Digital Resurgence
by Rapidfyrez
Summary: There are parts to Jacks life that are better left unknown. Things that he himself tries to forget. But when a mission gone wrong causes an old friend to return and drags his new ones into the mix, he'll do whatever it takes to defend them. No matter the cost.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Surprise!

_Military Outpost, Somewhere in the United States Midwest…_

Earth, such a small little world in a universe more than a billion times its tiny little size.

It was home to a almost insignificant looking little race known as the human race. They were a fairly...simple race, with most of them knowing very little of what laid beyond them. For more, far more than they realized resided in the never ending expanse that was the universe. Both above their heads...

...and somewhere far closer than they could have ever suspected.

But those weren't the only places where something else lurked, for right on the Earth's surface, a battle was being raged.

A small insignificant battle that was part of a far larger whole. A war that had lasted for thousands of years across the endless void having now found itself on the tiny blue marble.

And would likely continue for several hundred more. It was a battle between titans, towering machines who tore a human military installation apart as they battled. One faction, the Autobots, was trying to defend the base. The other, the Decepticons, were trying to steal something from it.

These two factions had fought for eons over ideals, power, and sometimes just because they couldn't get along. Some had long since forgotten the original reason for the war, yet continued to fight anyway. And on that day, they were fighting over a new device, something developed by human and Autobot (or as they were sometimes known, Cybertronian) hands.

A newly developed super-computer, powered by an advanced AI that could possibly reach the upper limits of a con drones own intelligence. In the steely hands of the Decepticons, such an Artificial Intelligence would be devastating in their already one sided war against the Autobots. Which was the Autobots were providing a distraction for the three real heroes of the day...

Their job? Simple. Their duty was to not only make sure the Decepticons didn't get their hands on such a advanced piece of hardware but to also get it somewhere safe until the bots were able drive off the cons.

A simple sounding job for sure...but with the almost overwhelming force that they were up against, it wasn't that simple...

...especially considering who these 'heroes' truly were.

They were not full grown adults...

No, instead they were the three human children that happened to be allies of the Autobots. And one of them also happened to be a technical prodigy. The other two were there to make sure he was safe as he transferred the AI to a new system, a small laptop. For an advanced AI, it was able to fit in a surprisingly small space. An advance courtesy of the Autobots.

And with such a tiny storage place for something so important, the trio and even the bots themselves were sure that the AI would be safe. Although, some might question the effectiveness and the overall choice of using kids...period.

But in truth, the kids had not only been through situations like this before...

...but the bots wouldn't have been able to keep them away otherwise (especially the only girl among them).

But even with that truth, there was one thing that the oldest of the three was sure of... They were running out of time.

"Raf, we need to move, now! Cons are getting closer!" The oldest of the trio warned the youngest. He was a tall, lean, and raven haired youth with stormy blue eyes and pale skin. His friend was short with spiky brown hair, brown eyes, and red rimmed glasses.

The younger boy readjusted his glasses, "I'm trying Jack, but this takes time!"

Time they were quickly running out of. Even with how powerful their robotic friends were, the Cons had one thing on their side the Autobots sorely lacked. Numbers. The Autobots numbered four while the cons numbers were endless.

And while one of the bots had had the brilliant idea of locking the trio inside with the computer so as to protect them, Jack could hear the Cons getting closer. Far too close for his comfort. The entire building shuddered, bits of dust raining from the ceiling. Jack caught himself on a terminal, while Raf remained in his seat. The girl of the group, a young Asian youth with pink streaked hair named Miko, fell on her rear with a yelp.

"RAF!?" Jack yelled.

"98% Jack!"

Miko got off the floor and dusted herself off, "Ah, calm down Jack." she told the teen, being one of the only among the trio who wasn't a bit worried about the situation, "Raf gots this."

Jack personally wondered if she was a bit loony...but that was proven on a regular basis with her antics with the ground bridges.

"Miko, I can hear their footsteps." he shot back, "You can't blame me for being a bit...worried."

"We'll be fine." she said dismissively, "Bulk wouldn't ever let the cons get near us."

Jack looked towards the door, "Glad you're so confident." he mumbled. Jack had faith in his partner too, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried. Far from it. And the sooner they got out of there, the better.

_'If only I still had... ' _Jack shook his head as old memories of the past tried to surface,_ 'Forget it Jack! That was four years ago. They said you served your purpose, and that you weren't needed anymore. Stop trying to go back to the past!'_

That part of his life was long gone, no matter how much Jack wished it wasn't a dream...but it might as well of been one. And truly, Jack had accepted it the best he could, not matter how many times his memories keep popping back up at the worst times. Like this instant for example.

The teen shook his head. He had to live in the present, focus on the situation at hand...no matter how dire it was. Raf and Miko needed him to be level headed for what would come next. They needed him to help them get out safe.

"Alright, done!" Raf announced. He unplugged his laptop and folded it up.

"Great, hand it over." Jack ordered, "We'll split up and meet back outside the base."

"What?" Raf asked with concern. That did not sound like a good idea, not even slightly. How would splitting up help them? Especially since there were giant evil robots roaming the base in a attempt to find them?

"If the cons find one of us, there's only a one in three chance that they get the laptop," Jack explained quickly, "If all three of us are together and they find us, they get the laptop."

Raf looked from his laptop to Jack then back again. The entire building shuddered, the lights flickering ominously.

With a heavy sigh, Raf closed his eyes "Okay... here."

Reluctantly, he handed the laptop to Jack. He didn't like this plan any better than Raf did, but it was their only real option at this point. If the cons got a hold of that AI, there was a good chance they'd all be doomed. More Vehicons to add to their army, an already massive group as it was.

"Okay," Jack nodded as he placed the laptop under his arm, "Now, you and Miko should make your way through the left side of the base, and I'll head the other."

"We'll meet just near the road, alright?" he added. The realization of just how dangerous this could get was not lost on any of the three. Cons didn't like humans, and could be quiet cruel towards them when they wanted.

Miko and Raf both nodded, the former giving a lazy grin as she did, "No problemo Jack-rabbit."

Jack resisted the urge to sigh and approached the door. Creaking it open slightly, Jack peaked out and scanned the halls. Nothing but linoleum tiling and florescent lights. For a military installation it sure was creepy. But it was safe too, as there was no signs of Vehicons busting down walls, or tentacles from Soundwave trying to decapitate them. Just empty halls.

"Alright, I'll head out first, and you two go in a minute or two just in case, alright?" he told both Miko and Raf.

They gave him a nod, showing they understood.

"Alright, be careful." he added as a final warning.

And then he slipped out into the hallway, his sneakers lightly squeaking against the polished floor. Raf and Miko followed suit, going the opposite direction of Jack. There were only two halls to follow, so there was no way to split up into three groups. Besides, Miko had no intention of leaving Raf alone again.

She would never admit it, but Miko still had nightmares about Raf's near death experience by the hands of the Decepticon leader Megatron. Raf was almost like a little brother to the girl. And seeing him so weak and near death had put Miko through the ringer.

So she had no intention of letting him out of her sight. Even if she would never admit her concern. After all, she had a reputation to keep up.

That said, the two continued running silently through the hall, before stopping at a door. It was a big steel door with a bio-scanner next to it. Miko stepped forward and pushed against the door for several seconds. The door didn't budge no matter how hard she pushed.

"Miko." Raf said.

"I got this Raf." she insisted. The door remained still.

"Miko." Raf repeated.

Miko growled to herself, "I've got this Raf!" she yelled. She pushed even harder on the door, which still refused to move.

"Miko!"

"What!?"

Raf pointed past her, "The door is pull. Not push."

Miko blinked a few before her face burned bright red, "Oh… I knew that." she muttered.

Raf rolled his eyes and pulled the door open for her, "Uh huh. Right."

"Let's just go." Miko hissed, walking past Raf into the empty hall. The boy just smiled and shrugged before following after her. The entire facilities security systems had been disabled by cons, allowing them easy access. Once they got past the bots that was.

Raf hoped the bots could hold them off long enough. They just needed to buy them a little more time. That was all they needed for themselves and Jack. The entire facility suddenly shuddered, making Miko and Raf stop against the wall to steady themselves.

"What was that?" Miko yelped. Dust drifted from the ceiling.

Raf looked around worriedly for a moment, "Felt like an explosion."

"Cons must be getting restless." Miko guessed.

The two exchanged looks ,"We need to get out of here, now." Raf stated.

"No argument there chief!" Miko yelped.

And just like that, they were running down the hall once again…

_Jack, several minutes earlier…_

Sneaking his way through the base proved both easy for Jack...and extremely tense. It was easy due to the fact that Jack was able to avoid mostly anything for quite a while, but extremely tense for two reasons.

Jack could still hear the fighting going on in the background...and if he did run into anything, Jack was sure that he would have been screwed.

He wasn't much a fighter, well not as a human anyway...

"Damn it," he shook his head, "Stop thinking about that, it'll get you-"

A massive explosion suddenly shook the entire building.

"...Killed."

The teen froze like a statue as a massive, thunderous explosion echoed through the base. One that was quite close to him. Hell, Jack nearly fell on his behind when the shock-wave hit and he even saw a plume of smoke emerge from a nearby hall. Rather quickly he got back to his feet and took a few cautious steps back.

The acrid smell of smoke burned his nostrils and told him that going that way towards the explosion was a bad idea.

"Not good," he muttered before turning the opposite direction, "Definitely not good."

But another explosion shook the facility, and the entire hall behind him collapsed. Smoke billowed out and temporarily blinded Jack. When his vision cleared, he saw the entire hall was filled with rubble from the building, and the corpse of a dead Vehicon. In other words, the way was blocked.

That meant there was only one way to go now. Out the hole behind him.

"Great." Jack sighed.

He could just feel how bad the situation was about again. What could be out there, what could be waiting for him, and how utterly screwed he was about to be...

Made him wish that he had a little help...anything, even something as tiny as...

Jack shook his head before sighing, "Well...time to roll the dice..."

He walked towards the hole and peered out to see... Well, chaos.

The bots fought cons, smoke trailed into the sky, Vehicons lay in pieces across the floor. Jack was quite content to simply find another way around the fight. After his little excursion to Cybertron, getting involved with the bots and their fights was something he had little interest in. He paused though when he saw Breakdown backhand his partner, a femme named Arcee, across the area.

"Arc-!" he nearly yelled before clasping his hand over his mouth.

He wanted to help, oh he so wanted to help. To help his partner, the rest of the bots...all of them.

But not only did he have no way of doing so, but he had precious cargo at the moment. Rushing out there to try and help them would have made the situation just so much worse.

So, reluctantly, Jack began stepping back inside... Only to trip on a loose piece of rubble. He landed on his rear, while his laptop went flying and landed, screen open, a fair distance away.

"Scrap!" he cursed, quickly getting off his rear and rushing back toward the computer.

Data immediately scrolled across its screen at a break neck pace.

Picking the piece of technology off the ground, Jack looked at it in worry. Did he break it? Raf would not only kill him for that, but what might have happened to the AI? Did he just make this entire battle pointless? Were his friends getting hurt because of nothing now?

"No, no, no..." He muttered, turning the computer upside down in some sad attempt to fix it. But as he did that, the data continued to flash and scroll, its pace increasing every second.

Jack was so frantic in finding what he wanted, that he didn't notice the Data forming a shape until it was too late. Jack cursed and flipped the laptop right side up again, showing off three words written in neon green. Jack blinked once he read those words.

'It's time again.'

"What?"

The message just remained there, unchanging. It was almost as if it was looking right at Jack, addressing him directly.

"Time?" he muttered, thinking that it was the AI for a moment, "Time for what?"

It made no sense to the teen, but the message didn't seem to get HIS message. In fact, it just started to blink rapidly and it even began to multiply, completely covering the screen with its strange words.

This of course just confused Jack more, "What are you talking about!?" he demanded of the screen.

The words suddenly coalesced into the shape at the center of the screen, forming a three dimensional object. It took only a moment for Jack to recognize the shape.

He immediately went went wide eyed.

In fact, the object that formed made him nearly dropped the laptop in shock, something that he was sure would have broken it if he did. But Jack couldn't help but just stand there, frozen as something...otherworldly happened. 

With all the words collecting at the center of the screen, Jack saw...something start to emerge from the small laptop.

Now...he was pretty damn sure that this wasn't the AI... At least, he didn't think so…

Instead, what emerged was... It was a rounded square object, primarily white with red highlights. A small screen rested in the center of the device.

It floated out to him and landed in his hands. Jack stared at the device in his hand, recognition plastered on his face, "This... is this happening again?"

In answer, the laptop suddenly gained about a hundred pounds and fell out of his hand. Jack yelped and looked down to see what was happening to the device. Another object was emerging from the screen, taking on color and form as it did.

A smile crossed his face and light poured from the odd device in his hands. Seemed like he was going to be able to help Arcee after all…

_Mid-Pacific…_

A lone ship floated in the middle of the Pacific ocean, a small tile of grey on an endless expanse of blue. It was long and wide, bobbing on the sea like a cork. And several large satellite dishes dotted the ships decks. Very few crew walked the surface of the ship.

Because deep below in the depths of the vessel was where the true work was occurring. A large dome shaped structure was beneath the upper decks, were dozens of men and women in white uniforms worked within it. The dome stretched over their heads, a constant reminded of their work. Computer terminals were placed around the circumference of the dome and wires hung from inside of the dome and were draped across the floor.

Catwalks crisscrossed the upper levels of the dome. And a massive green and blue mosaic dotted the inside of the dome. A holographic representation of the planet Earth. It was all quite impressive, even to a lone figure who watched it an overlooking platform.

He was paled skin with blonde hair and a slender physique. He was dressed in a business suit and wore a pair of shades despite the darkness that engulfed the general area. There was a lighter in his hand that he repeatedly flipped open and closed. The man had nothing to light nor did he intend to.

It was just a nervous tick of his, something to keep his nerves calm. And given his line of work, it was a rather useful tick.

However, he'd seen little work in the past few years. Ever sense the last big emergence, he and his organization had seen next to no activity. They'd been pushed from location to location. Out from their original HQ in Japan, to a temporary Chinese location, to the US, and now in the middle of the ocean.

It was rather insulting honestly. Four years ago, he and his organization had been one of the most important groups under the employ of the UN. Now though, they had to struggle to maintain their budget.

His lighter clicked close and he tightened his grip on it, "The portals may be closed, but our importance hasn't diminished." he told himself quietly.

"Whether the UN wants to admit it or not, they need us. They need H-"

There was a sudden alert on the dome, a bright red light flashing on one of the green continents. The man's head shot up, "Report!" he ordered.

Several of the men had gone to their terminals immediately, their fingers flying over the keyboards, "It's… I can't believe it!"

"What, what is it!?" the sunglasses wearing man demanded.

"Sir, it's a Bio-Emergence."

The man fell silent upon this revelation. It had been two years since the last one, and that had been so minor it barely registered. But now, another had occurred? And it was big if the sensors were to be believed.

"Where exactly is it taking place?" The man looked at the global picture. It was in the States, he knew that. But where exactly?

"Nevada sir." his subordinate replied.

The man's grip tightened on his lighter, "Of course its Nevada. It's always Nevada."

"Sir?"

"I need a visual now!" he yelled, "That's an order!"

"Right away sir!" the men immediately got to work while the man watched the screen intently. All he had to do now was wait…

_Arcee…_

Things were...not going well in Arcee's opinion.

The moment Ratchet and the humans made that machine of his, she had a feeling something was going to happen. After all, when didn't something happen when things were finally starting to go their way?

But of course, the Cons found out about Ratchet's new project (how, they had no idea, although Ratchet blamed Soundwave for some reason) and now, the battle was going about as well as she had suspected it would. Sure, the Vehicons were no trouble. They were drones for the most part anyway.

But the other Cons were proving to be a problem, especially when she got tossed on her aft by the big bruiser of the Megatron's gang of tinheads, Breakdown.

While no longer the biggest threat in Megatron's arsenal (That honor belonged to Dreadwing) Breakdown was still a huge danger on the battlefield, as Arcee had unfortunately learned.

Her processor was still spinning from the blow he'd landed, and she only managed to steady it after several seconds laying on the ground. By the time she did, she was only able to look up and see Breakdown pointing his shoulder mounted rocket at her.

The one eyed con smiled maliciously, "One autobrat down, three to go."

He fired, and Arcee shut her optics as she waited for the impact. After all, there was no way she could avoid the missile in time from her position on the ground. Had her optics been open, she'd have seen a shadow fall over her. But she didn't. She did hear the explosion and its echoing boom that echoed through the area. However, Arcee still felt quite alive. Hesitantly, she opened a single optic to see why this was.

Opening it, the first thing the femme saw was red.

Not the red of a blaster being shoved in her face however, and it wasn't a paintjob or a finish on another Autobot (or the only other red Cybertronian she knew of, thankfully) or Decepticon either. In fact, it looked something similar to a cloth or...what humans would call a cape or something.

It was massive too, flowing in the wind right in front of her. Unfortunately, it also obscured whoever was standing in front of the Autobot too.

Nearly the figure's entire body was obscured by the cape, but there were a few things she could notice. Such as a pair of red and yellow shoulder pads on the figure's shoulders and a large white collar, one surely made of metal.

But one of the more obvious things that Arcee noticed about whoever was standing in front of her was the two devices attached to was she thought was the figure's arms.

One of these was a massive circular shield, nearly as large as the figure itself. She couldn't make out the design on it, only that it was big. Obviously this was what had stopped the missile.

The_ other_ object, was a massive... lance. It was nearly tall as the figure who wielded it, with a red and gold hilt and a steely color to it. Arcee looked up at the figures head, seeing that it was mostly white, with red spikes jutting from a visor along its forehead, and a long almost feathery piece of white cloth flowed from the top of its head.

The figure turned its head to look at Arcee.

"Are you alright?"

When the figure spoke, it sounded like it was two voices speaking at once. They flowed at the exact same time, making it nearly impossible for someone to determinate who or what one of the voices were. But as the figure addressed her, Arcee could have sword that one of the voices sounded familiar.

"W-what?" she replied, more out of shock than actually answering the figure's question.

Despite that though, the figure did not seem bother by that at all, "I asked, are you alright?"

As it spoke a second time, the two voices became synched into one single voice. It was strong and almost song like in quality, containing a great strength and confidence to it. The voice of a Prime.

Arcee didn't initially hear the question, only now paying attention to the figures face. It was wearing a large white helmet, with a red visor above its amber eyes. A grate was placed over its face, obscuring it from her vision. This immediately put the femme on guard to answer its question that had finally gotten through.

However, since the figure had saved her, Arcee did give a slow nod. The figure nodded in return and turned back towards Breakdown, thrusting its lance wielding arm to the side. It's cape billowed in the wind, allowing Arcee to see the white segmented armor that lined its body. It wasn't Autobot or Decepticon that was for sure. Its armor was slender and elegant, but didn't seem designed to transform into a vehicle form like a Cybertronians.

"The pit is that?" Breakdown asked his partner Knockout.

The massive Decepticon was certain that he had the femme right where he wanted her. One simple missile and he could add yet another Autobot he add to his extensive list. But somehow, this...thing had not only interrupted his moment of glory, but it had also protected the Autobot without even scratching that oversize shield he wore.

And what a shield it was. It had a gold outline with strange markings covering its surface, and at its center was a massive symbol. It looked like four triangles, with three forming a larger one while the fourth sat upside down in the middle of the others. Whatever it was made of, it must have been tough to survive a missile at point blank range without even getting a scratch.

Knockout, who had stayed out of the fighting for the most part, scratched his chin in thought, "Why, I'm not sure...has quite the design though." he eyed the figure approvingly.

The figure ignored Knockouts compliment, and it glared right at Breakdown, something that made a chill go up the Con's frame. Something about those amber eyes and the emotions behind them just… set him on edge. He ignored the feeling though, and took a single threatening step towards the being.

"Who are you, ya piece of scrap?" Breakdown demanded. The chill was gone now. After all, he'd faced more intimidating figures than this guy.

The figure narrowed its eyes at Breakdown and spoke in its powerful voice.

"You, may call me Dukemon, the defender of the weak and innocent." he briefly looked over his shoulder.

"No offense madam." he added.

Arcee blinked, "N-none taken..."

Nodding, Dukemon returned his gaze to the two Decepticons in front of him with disdain flashing in his eyes.

"And you both, along with all of your cohorts have committed such actions that I cannot tolerate. Combine that with what you have done this day, and I fear that you must face justice for your crimes." He told the two Cons with a deadly serious undertone to his voice.

Still, the two Decepticons were...less than impressed by his pontificating.

"Is this Scraphead serious?" Breakdown asked his partner, both amused and bewildered at what this 'Dukemon' had just said.

"And I thought the Prime was a blow hard." Knockout muttered.

Dukemons lance swung forward, pointing at Breakdown, "I warn you once. Lay down your weapons, and I promise no harm will come to you."

"Seriously?" Knockout snorted, then looked at his comrad, "Breakdown, if you'd please?"

"My pleasure." the massive con smirked, transforming one of his hands into his trademark hammer.

At the sight of such a weapon, Dukemon's gaze became hard and steely, "If that is your choice, then so be it."

Dukemon shifted his stance so that his shield occupied most of his body. His lance was pointed forward and his feet dug into the ground ever so slightly

"Oh, this is gonna be fun." Breakdown declared. He gave his hammer an experimental swing, hearing it whistle through the air. Breakdown gave a lazy smirk at the knightly figure before him. Dukemon remained motionless.

So, the con shrugged.

And then he charged at Dukemon.

**A/N: Now firstly, I apologize for my relative inactivity guys. Last weeks of school and what not. Now, with it over (I'M FREE!) I can focus on my stories. Speaking of, this story is a bit different from my others. This story is being written with the help of co-author DarkDemon916, a competitor in The Calling OCT, and a good friend of mine. We've been working off and on, on this story for quite some time, and I decided this would be a good way to get back in the game, sense I sorta lost my muse for every other story I have written. Don't worry, I'll get back to them eventually, I promise!**

**Now then, for one last detail. The Original Charater Tournament I've been hosting has had its deadline pushed back to June 14th to give some applicants a little more time. There are only three spots left, so if anyone is interested, let me know via PM. I'll answer any and all questions you might have.**

**With that said, I hope you enjoyed my Digimon/TFP crossover, and remember. If you have critique, leave a review. If you have questions, leave a review OR PM me. I will try my hardest to reply the best I can. Hope you guys enjoyed, bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Knights Stand

_Military Installation…_

Despite being the size of Bulkhead, Breakdown quickly closed the gap between himself and Dukemon, his massive metal feet stomping the ground beneath him into dust. As he reached the knight-ish figure, the Decepticon reared his hammer back and unleashed it upon Dukemon with enough force to split a Cybertronians chassis open.

But as the struck, his hammer was only met with Dukemon's shield and despite the strength behind the weapon, Dukemon did not budge an inch.

Instead, an ear shattering clang echoed through the battlefield, causing the remaining skirmishes to come to a close. The remaining bots and cons looked at the newcomer and Breakdown, caught surprised by his sudden appearance. They'd not noticed before as their conflicts had been more important. But now, all optics were focused on the two figures before them, locked in a duel to the death.

Dukemon silently, but powerfully, slammed his shield forward, knocking Breakdown backwards. As the con stumbled back, Dukemon reared back on one legged and kicked the con in the abdomen with his other leg, launching him across the field.

Bouncing several times across the field, the massive Decepticon eventually came to a stop when his face crashed into a rather large rock with an echoing boom. The dust cleared quickly to show that the con was still functioning. His torso was covered by various scratches and cuts, but otherwise he was alright. Physically at least.

Like rest of the Cons (and even the Autobots) however, the most obvious change to the Decepticon was the shock on his face at what just happened. No one had met him in one on one combat so easily, no one but Megatron and Optimus anyway.

But the fight wasn't over yet.

Calmly dropping his leg, Dukemon suddenly rushed forward without notice, aiming his shining lance right at the Decepticon he had sent flying. Knockout wasn't completely ignored however, as Dukemon did slam his shield against the medical officer's face as he passed by him as well, sending him careening into a nearby Vehicon.

With the con out of the way, Dukemon seemed to almost _fly_ across the field, where he met Breakdown. Fortunately for the con, he had gotten back to his feet by that point and slammed his hammer at Dukemon.

The knightly figure blocked it with his massive shield again, before shoving his hammer away and leaping _over _Breakdown.

"What?" the con cursed, following the Knight as far as he could before he vanished from sight.

Unleashing a enraged grunt, Breakdown snapped around with his hammer in full motion. He was aiming to backhand the knight right as he landed, hopefully knocking the figure's block off.

But as he turned around, Breakdown's hammer was met with nothing but air. It confused him for a moment, but a quick look downward made the Con's optics widen.

Without any sort of effort, Dukemon had ducked out of the way of the Con's hammer and was just sitting there, glaring up at Breakdown's disbelieving faceplate. The look of disbelief quickly shifted into anger.

"You little-" Breakdown tried attacking again, but then Dukemon did something quite different and unexpected.

His voice echoed across the field.

**-SPIRAL SABER!- **

And then he spiraled upwards, fire spinning around him like a tornado. Wind and flame engulfed the two, hiding them from sight for the moment. The high winds buffeted Breakdown, and left his blue paint job scorched and ruined.

The mech inwardly cursed. Knockout was going to have a fit over that.

Thoughts of the prissy mech aside, Breakdown staggering backwards for a moment or two, while Dukemon continued to spiral into the air like the flaming tornado he was. He eventually stopped several yards above anyone, floating there with his cape fluttering in the wind.

Everyone was just...baffled by this, no one more than the Con that the figure had attacked however. After all, a Cybertronian could have a flying alt. But to just stay in the air and float like that? That was something different entirely.

Dukemon then glared down at the Con in particular before pulling his lance back slightly.

**-DUKE CHARGE!-**

Roaring once again, the knight fell back down to the earth, flying through the air with his lance pointing right at the Con below him. Breakdown staggered for a moment due to the sight of such a thing but he eventually shook himself free and tried to smack the knight out of the air with his hammer.

The attempt failed, horribly.

For one, he missed Dukemon entirely, his hammer creating a nice breeze for him. His blow made him overextend himself, and Breakdown found his back pointed at Dukemon. And unlike his opponent, Dukemon didn't miss.

His lance stabbed into the cons shoulder from behind, shoving through metal as if it were tissue paper. This injury alone Breakdown might have survived fairly unharmed. He'd felt worse. But any chance of survival quickly diminished when Dukemons voice echoed across the field again.

**-LIGHTNING JOUST!-**

The attack was sudden and without warning. Dukemon's lance suddenly became engulfed by a strange blue energy. It was so intense that it even looked as if the weapon was made out of that energy.

But it didn't stay in the weapon for long. The energy shot from the blade the moment Dukemon's voice exploded outward, stabbing into the already fresh wound in Breakdown's shoulder.

The reaction was instant.

Breakdown himself let out a pained yell, and his right arm all but exploded, spiraling off across the field. Energon and bits of the Con's body spewed out of the giant hole that now adorned Breakdown's left side. There wasn't even a trace of his arm left, the cybernetic limb had been all but annihilated.

Pulling his lance out of the charred piece of ground (which used to be Breakdown's arm), Dukemon flicked away any remains that were left over from The Decepticon's shattered limb, almost as if it was a common practice. He then used his foot to flip Breakdown onto his back so that his single yellow optic stared up into the sky.

Breakdown slowly looked over to his side to see where his limb had once been. The entire area was numbed and leaked Energon from the charred remains of his shoulder. Breakdown was speechless.

So Knockout summed up what he was thinking in the proper manner, "WHAT THE SCRAP!?"

This knight-esque figure had beaten Breakdown...in a display that made nearly all the fighting going on at the time just stop. When they began fighting that day, this was the last thing they had expected to see. A giant knight beating up one of the Decepticon bruisers? Very uncommon.

His shock fading, Breakdown tried to push himself up with his remaining arm and glare at the figure above him but quickly found that impossible when a metal boot came down and stomped on the Decepticon's chest.

Looking up with his single one eye, Breakdown saw Dukemon standing over him triumphantly, lance pulled back and cape flowing in the breeze. His amber eyes were locked into a scowling expression.

"Never expected it to end like this..." Breakdown mumbled.

He expected...well, he could imagine so many things. The Autobots doing him in, a betrayal by a fellow con, or just meeting Megatron on a bad day. Hell, those humans. After his run in with them, even they were a way he could imagine himself going out...

But this? Never...

Never did he expect to be taken out by someone named...Dukemon.

That just seemed... silly.

Dukemon's powerful voice echoed across the area, "Breakdown, the crimes you have committed are many and unforgiveable,"

His grip tightened on his lance, "And so, it is with a heavy heart that I-"

There was a sudden explosion against Dukemon's helmet, making him stagger to the side. He shook himself of his confusion and looked through the smoke.

"Perhaps you should take on a different warrior." a sinister voice challenged.

Glaring through the smoke, Dukemon saw it belonged to the Decepticon SIC Dreadwing. A tall blue and gold seeker with a massive cannon held in both his hands.

Dukemon tightened his grip on his shield and lance, "If this is what you inquire…"

Dreadwings red optics narrowed and his grip tightened on his cannon. The bots and cons watched the exchanged as the area grew dead silent. With the lull in the fighting, the green mech Bulkhead and yellow scout Bumblebee ran to Arcee's side, helping her up.

"I'm fine." she told them as she settle on her pedes. Her optics never left Dukemon though.

"You know this guy?" Bulkhead asked her, eyeing Dukemon suspiciously. The guy had taken out Breakdown, but that didn't necessarily mean he was on the bots side either. Still, if he took out Dreadwing and Breakdown, he was fine with letting the two fight.

Arcee shook her head, "No, I don't. But something seems… familiar about him."

**"Familiar?" **Bee whirred in his crippled language.

"I can't explain it," Arcee said, "But something about the way he speaks, his voice, and his stance… I feel like I've seen it before."

That was the best she could explain it. Arcee didn't know _why _Dukemon was so familiar to her, she'd never seen a guy like him in her life. But every time she looked at him or heard him speak, she felt a familiar feeling in her spark. And that just confused her even more. For the sake of answers, she hoped this knight survived his duel with Dreadwing.

"There is no reason for us to fight." Dukemons voice grabbed Arcee's attention again as he and Dreadwing resumed talking.

"My conflict is with the Decepticon Breakdown." the knightly figure continued, "I have no wish to do battle with you."

Dreadwing did not back down, "You attacked a fellow Decepticon. Therefore you are my enemy as well."

Dukemons gaze softened slightly, "Comradery? From a Decepticon?" a small chuckle emanated from his grated face.

His eyes closed, "Very well, then so be it." he declared, lifting up his shield before launching forward toward the massive seeker at a break neck pace.

However, Dreadwing had seen some of what Dukemon was capable of, so he wasn't as unprepared as his predecessor.

The massive con quickly launched several volley's of blaster fire from his cannon, all aiming to halt the knight's advance. But despite that, all of this shots merely bounced off of Dukemon's shield, none of the attacks even denting the shields surface.

_'He's strong,'_ Dreadwing noted, before abandoning his cannon and pulling his sword from his back.

The two opponents blades clashed together in a shower of sparks, a clear ring sounding through the air. And unlike before, the two had a more even level of strength than Breakdown did. The two titans struggled against each other for a moment or two, neither of them backing off for even a split second.

_'His strength matches my own.' _Dukemon thought. It had been a long while since he'd faced such a strong opponent. Four years in fact. Perhaps Dreadwing, an honorable and powerful opponent would change that.

Eventually, Dukemon managed to angle his lance to a point where Dreadwing's blade accidentally slid off of the smooth weapon. However, the Con was not about to let the knight take advantage of this. He slammed his shoulder into Dukemon, knocking him backwards. Then, Dreadwing slashed his blade in an upward arch, aiming to cut the Knight from hip to shoulder.

Dukemon easily back stepped the attack though, moving gracefully across the ground. Dreadwing yelled and slashed down at the knightly being. This lead to the knightly being leaping backwards into the air.

He landed a fair distance away, letting his shield and lance dropping for a moment, "You are quite skilled." Dukemon praised, catching his breath. A disadvantage against an opponent who did not need to breath.

Dreadwing smirked and held up a detonator, "You have no idea," he sneered, and mashed the trigger.

Eyes widening underneath his helmet, Dukemon looked down at himself and noticed two strange looking explosives. One of which was attached to his chest while the other was stuck to the front of his shield.

Then with a sudden rapid series of beeps, both explosives detonated, engulfing the armored figure in a massive explosion. Such an explosion covered the entire general area with a gigantic cloud of smoke, supposedly all that remained of the knightly being.

Dreadwing couldn't help but smirk at that. So many foes always underestimated him when it came to battles like that. The bots stared at the cloud in shock. Well, Bee and Arcee did. Bulkhead wore a dark expression. He'd been on the receiving end of those blast devices before. It was a shame that Dukemon fell victim to them as well. The mech bowed his head for a moment of silence of the strange being. He was a heck of a fighter, that was for sure.

Dreadwing lowered his detonator and straightened up, "Now then, back to-"

"Are you a warrior, or a coward!?" Dukemon's voice called out. Dreadwing froze and looked at the pillar of smoke as it cleared. The knights shield, lance, and cape were still there. But his body was nowhere to be seen.

"What!?" Dreadwing hissed, confused at what he saw.

"I said, are you a warrior or a coward!?" Dukemon repeated. This time Dreadwing and everyone else looked up to see the knight standing atop a nearby radio tower, his arms crossed and the plume on his helm fluttering in the breeze.

"That's not possible..." Dreadwing muttered. He saw his explosives detonate. There was no way that this strange figure could have been able to remove them _and_ get all the way over there in the amount of time he had looked away.

"I considered you a worthy foe, one who knew how to battle with honor." Dukemon announced, ignoring the utter confusion that he was receiving with his sudden change in location. Still, he didn't bother with concerning himself with such trivial things.

"But now, I see." he shook his head, disappointed, "You are nothing but a coward, a nave who merely plays the part of a warrior. For if you must resort to such tactics, then you have no honor at all!"

Now that got Dreadwing's Energon boiling, "You DARE!?"

"I am Lord Megatrons most trusted and loyal servant, his greatest warrior!" Dreadwing snarled, "Who are you to challenge my honor!?"

Dukemon leaped from the antennae and landed next to a Vehicon. The drone tried to attack him, but the knight merely ducked under its blow and struck upwards. The Vehcions head went flying.

"I, Dukemon, am a protector of innocent," he looked back at Dreadwing, "A guardian of the weak and helpless, and most importantly a servant of Justice."

The drone's body quickly came crashing down while Dukemon strolled past it.

"And I know more about honor than most who exist." he told the Decepticon with a bitter distaste in his voice, "I, Dukemon, know a code, one of which you seem to be misinformed of, or truly do not understand."

Another Vehicon rushed the Knightly figure, but all it got for its efforts was a sudden kick to the mid section, splitting the poor drone in half.

"So prove to me, Decepticon," the knight challenged, "Prove you are a true warrior."

He stopped between his shield and lance, grabbing his cape. In one fluid move, he swung it around his shoulders and reattached it. He plucked his shield and lance from the ground and held them at the ready.

Growling at the utter humiliation, Dreadwing could not stand it. This was far worse than that Autobot he had tracked to Earth. It was worse than the moronic scrap he had to deal with when it came to some of his fellow Decepticons.

This was unforgivable.

"Then I shall!" Dreadwing growled, gripping his word in both hands yet again, "And I shall take your head, with my honor intact!"

"Then have at you!" Dukemon bellowed.

And then, the two charged. But they never had a chance to meet, as one of the other buildings suddenly exploded outwards.

And the only two missing, both con and bot came tumbling through. Optimus Prime, and Megatron.

The two titans, the commanders from both of their factions were dueling it out on their own, away from the main conflict. Trading blows back and forth with the massive blades that sprouted from their arms. The two commanders had reignited their conflict, one that had been going on as long as the war itself.

They had been so caught up in their duel, that neither of them had heard or even been aware of the duel that had been going on under their nonexistent noises.

Or at least, they would for only a tiny bit longer.

It ended though, when Megatron grabbed Optimus by the arm and twisted on his heel.

"This ends TODAY, Optimus Prime!" he declared, and sent the Prime flying across the field. He crashed with a thunderous boom, and lay there dazed for a few moments. Megatron raised the large silver cannon on his right arm.

A sadistic smile spread across his scarred faceplate, "Good bye forever."

Megatron opened fire on the helpless Prime, a series of blows that would have ended his fate. Only, his shots bounced off a golden silver shield instead.

"I think not." an echoing and confidant voice roared from behinds the shield, his eyes glaring at the silver titan.

Shaking the daze out of his helm, Optimus pulled himself up and looked to his side, instantly noticing the caped figure who had defended him.

Just as he had before, Dukemon was standing there, having abandoned his duel with Dreadwing for a much more important task. One he had expected to occur since he first steeped onto the battlefield. After all, he could feel Megatron's filthy presence from a mile away.

Megatron lowered his cannon, a confused expression on his faceplate, "And what exactly are you?" he demanded. Very few things could withstand a blast from his cannon. And even fewer beings would get between him and Optimus.

The knight kept his eyes narrowed and his stance tight, "You may refer to me as Dukemon."

"Dukemon?" Megatron muttered, testing the name for a moment or two. He had heard many strange names before...but this one was quite strange in itself.

"And what business do you have here?" he demanded, his optics glaring at the strange interruption, "Dukemon?"

"My business is that of the Autobots. The defense of the weak and innocent from the unjust, like you." Dukemon stated strongly.

Megatron let out a bark of laughter, "So you're with the Autobots then? A pity."

Taking a split second to gaze around at his forces while he laughed, the massive King of the Decepticons couldn't help but laugh even harder, "It would be a shame to waste someone of your talents, especially if you were the one that was able to do all of this."

Dukemon narrowed his eyes, "I am, and I, Dukemon, find it quite the contrary. It would be truly a waste of my talents to assist one such as you," he responded, "For why serve a king, whose kingdom is nothing but a sham?"

Megatrons laugh immediately ended with a scowl.

"You are nothing more than a glorified revolutionary who has lost sight of what once was a noble cause." Dukemon continued, "And to pledge my allegiance to one as twisted as you would truly dilute any honor I may have retained."

With his face slowly twisting into a scowl, Megatron let out a enraged roar and began to blast away at Dukemon. However, the Knight's shield easily absorbed all of the shots. Not a single one was able to scar his shield with so much as a scorch mark.

"So, with that honor, I, Dukemon, will hold up my stance against all of your kind." Dukemon announced as the fusion blasts pinged off his shield.

"And I will strike you down, on this very day!"

The blasts stopped as Megatron suddenly burst into heavy laughter, nearly doubling over,"You, defeat me!? You're not worthy of defeating me! No one is!"

Dukemon lowered his shield, "And that is where we disagree."

Still laughing, the massive Decepticon merely shook his head at such a claim, "Then I am sorry to disappoint you, but you are quite wrong on-"

**-ROYAL SABER!-**

Megatron's laughter was cut off when his newly announced foe charged at him. His speed was even faster than before, quickly closing the distance between himself and Megatron.

Once he got in range of the Con, Dukemon fished off his rush with a sudden jab with his lance, nearly impaling through Megatron's spark chamber with such an attack. It was only the Con's legendary battle experience that saved him from going off line at that very moment. Their blades clashed in a shower of sparks where they held tight.

"Impressive." Megatron admitted.

Then he slammed his free servo into the knights helm, knocking him downwards. His knee shot up into Dukemons face with a thunderous crash, knocking him flat on his back. Dukemon was left dazed while Megatron circled around his fallen form.

"But not good enough." the king con sneered.

Deploying she sword once again, Megatron let a sadistic grin come to his face as he approached his fallen opponent. Lifting the blade high, he aimed to finish off the strange obstacle in front of him before finally returning to his original goal.

But before he could bring his blade down on Dukemon, the Knight quickly jumped to his feet and slammed his shield forward. The round protective piece of metal collided with the Con's torso, knocking him backward just a few feet while Dukemon regained his senses.

"I may surprise you, Megatron." Dukemon declared as he steadied himself.

Megatron sneered, "I doubt that."

And then they charged. The battle between the two of them was fierce and chaotic. Both parties were relentless. They traded blows like two devils dancing upon the field of death. Megatron used his brute strength and combat prowess to press against Dukemon. But the Knight was able to defend himself quite well, using his speed and weaponry to not only defend himself from the Con's attacks but to also strike back as well.

Everyone surrounding the fight just watched in silence. No one, be it Con or Autobot could believe what they were seeing. No one could fight Megatron like that, no one but Optimus himself…

...And even Optimus wasn't sure what to make of this newcomer. Despite his large size (Only slightly shorter than Megatron himself) he moved with the speed and grace of a far lighter and smaller being. It was mesmerizing to watch. And for a time, neither opponent gained nor lost ground.

However, things seemed to take a turn for the worse when Megatron managed to catch Dukemon's lance right as he tried to impale him with it.

Tucking the weapon under his arm, the massive Con grinned wildly before bringing his blade down upon the knight. However, his blade was stopped as well, crashing against Dukemon's shield. This left the duo in yet another stalemate, with Megatron gaining the upper hand.

"Impressive." he commented, "Very impressive. It almost makes me regret having to end such potential..."

But despite the situation he was in, Dukemon's eyes remained just as strong as ever, "Don't feel too bad, Megatron."

The con blinked as Dukemons eyes suddenly flashed a familiar stormy blue. He knew those eyes. Megatron never forgot a face. Never. And he knew only one being who had such determined eyes.

"...You!" he accused as realization hit him.

"You're not the first to get their aft kicked by me!" and with that, Dukemon took in a breath, directing the face of his shield at Megatron.

**-SHIELD OF THE JUST!-**

His shield, which had been holding back the Con's blade, suddenly started to glow an intense white color. An unknown energy filling the shield, all that remained untouched by the light was the center symbol on the defensive tool. But that too glowed red with purpose before it finally happened.

A sudden and powerful blast, so intense that it nearly melted the Con's sword upon touching it exploded from the shield, smacking right into Megatron's torso and sending him flying backwards.

Megatron hit the closest building with an earth shattering- KABOOM! - where he lay for a time, stunned. Dukemon lowered his shield and stabbed his lance into the ground, resting for a moment now that his work was done…

_Raf and Miko…_

The entire facility shuddered and ceiling panels fell from above. Both Raf and Miko covered their heads as the panels fell around them.

Miko growled angrily to herself, "Forget it! I'm calling Hatchet, we're gonna get fried out here!"

"But what about Jack?" Raf protested. They couldn't just leave him with the laptop, could they?

Miko held her phone to her ear, "I'm sure he's fine. Hello, Ratchet? Yeah, we need a bridge. Also, can you contact Jack? Thanks."

She shut her phone and looked at Raf, "Happy now?"

A bridge swirled to life down the hall and Raf sighed, "Let's go."

_Dukemon…_

Optimus looked up to see the armored gauntlet of Dukemon offered to him, "Apologies, Optimus Prime. I do not believe we were properly introduced."

The Prime blinked slightly, before eventually taking the Knights hand and hoisted himself up, "That is quite alright, Dukemon, was it?" he asked with a brief nod, "Thank you for your assistance, I appreciate it."

Dukemon returned the nod, "It is quite alright. T'was my duty to assist you and your companions, so there is no need to thank me."

"Perhaps," Optimus admitted, "But we do not know you, nor have we heard of you. How do you know of us?"

The sound of shifting rubble caught their attention. By now, Megatron was getting back up while the cons were freeing themselves of the shock of seeing Megatron get his aft handed to him.

Dukemon looked back at Optimus, "We will discuss this later. Perhaps now would be a good time to retreat for the time being?"

Watching as Dreadwing tried to help his commander up (and get shoved away as a result), the Prime then turned back to his own team. They were all alright for the most part, with only a few scratches and dings due to the fighting they had been involved in. Even Arcee seemed to be in fair condition, all things considered.

Still, the base was damaged and while the Cons were retreating...such an idea did sound like the right one for the time.

"Agreed, a retreat is our best option." Optimus nodded before turning back to the others.

"Autobots," he rumbled, "Prepare to fall back."

The bots nodded and began providing covering fire as the cons returned it, "Ratchet, are the children safe at base?"

_"Yes, Optimus, but-"_

"No time Ratchet, we are in need of a ground bridge now!"

Hesitating slightly, the medic quickly complied, _"Of course, generating one now."_

Several seconds passed as the two retreating forces went back and forth, trading fire against each other. But eventually, a familiar looking portal appeared right next to the team of Autobots.

"Autobots. Through the Ground Bridge" Optimus commanded the team.

The bots nodded and ran towards the swirling green vortex. Optimus stopped at the edge of the bridge and looked back to see Dukemon impaling a Vehicon with his lance.

"Dukemon!" he called out.

The Knight looked back at Optimus, then the cons, and then ran towards the portal.

Quickly reaching it, the Knight dived inside while the Decepticons continued to fire upon them.

But despite a few hitting their mark, the Vehicons blasters proved quite ineffective, leading to Dukemon safely escaping inside the Ground bridge along with the rest of the bots. With no one left to retrieve, the Ground Bridge safely closed behind the Knight, leaving the Decepticons alone in a ruined field filled with their fallen.

Megatron snarled as he walked over where the portal once was. Gone again, and with few casualties to account for. And the AI was likely lost to them as well. It was a horrible loss for the Decepticons that day.

"My lord," Knockout hesitantly approached him, "I don't mean to bother you, but Breakdown needs immediate medical attention."

It wass not like he actually cared all that much, but Breakdown was leaking an unhealthy amount of Energon along with his extensive wounds. Snarling, Megatron briefly looked down at himself. His chest had been scared, a large black mark now adorning his torso from where Dukemon had injured him so.

"Silence." he sneered, fist tightening. This would not go unpunished...

...He would find this Dukemon and punish him. Somehow, someway...

"I want Soundwave here. Now."

Knockout blinked before giving a nod, "As you wish, Lord Megatron…" and backed away.

Megatron looked at the now setting sun and began speaking to himself, "I know not where you found this power, human, but know this…" Dark Energon dripped from Megatrons servo, "When I find you, and when I pay you back for this humiliation, you will wish you died on Cybertron. I swear it."

_Autobot HQ…_

Waiting at his controls, Ratchet watched as Optimus and his team quickly emerged from the Ground Bridge. After the situation had quickly when FUBAR, the medic had been silently (in his...own way) worrying about the team, even as they returned back to base.

They all looked fine besides a few things (Bulkhead was favoring his left servo for some reason), but he couldn't help but be a bit concerned.

And that wasn't the only reason...

"Who on Cybertron is that!?" the medic demanded, gesturing to Dukemon.

The knight rested his shield and lance against the wall, before giving a bow, "Dukemon, at your service."

Still a bit startled concerning the strange newcomer, Ratchet then turned his attention toward the others.

But they were of no help either.

"Sorry Ratchet, but we're about as clueless as you." Arcee answered while the others nodded as well. Though she hoped to get some answers very soon.

"He just...appeared out of nowhere."

"And then proceeded to kick the tailpipe of every con there." Bulkhead added, "Took off Breakdowns arm too."

Ratchet looked unconvinced, "And how do we know he's not a Decepticon spy? We don't even know what he is!"

It was a good point… Except for the whole, kicking Con tailpipe and all. Sort of poked a hole in Ratchet's worries.

Miko walked up to the edge of the platform, scrutinizing the knight. Dukemons amber eyes flicked to her, "Yes?"

"What did you say your name was?"

"Dukemon."

Instant realization flashed across Miko's face, "HOLY SCRAP! HE'S A DIGIMON!"

The entire base went silent after that. Miko was just utterly frozen in shock along with Raf. The Bots were just as clueless as ever, and Dukemon? His eyes filled with amusement at Miko's realization.

Figures she would be the first to figure it out.

"...What?", All the Autobots looked over at the teenage girl in confusion. They had no idea what she was talking about.

"What's a...digimon?" Bulkhead asked his charge, still as confused as the rest of them were.

"Yeah, a Digimon." Miko repeated dumbly.

Dukemon took up the reigns, knowing Miko would be of no help "It stands for Digital Monster, on the account that my kind were initially base creatures that evolved on the data streams of human computers. I, Dukemon, am one of such Digimon."

It took the bots a few moments to process that (some, more than others). But eventually a few recovered their senses.

"So...you're a digital construct that originated inside the human's...internet?" Ratchet tried to make sense of what he just heard. But truly, this was stumping even someone like Ratchet. Such a thing...didn't sound possible.

Dukemon nodded, "While I would take the term 'construct' a bit offensively, yes. In general, that is what my kind are."

"Swe-et!" Miko cheered, "And here I thought they were just a card game!"

"A what?" the bots asked.

Blinking out of his own shock (and it was a mighty big one), Raf shook his head and tried to make his own contribution to the conversation, "I don't know much about it really, but a card game is basically a game that is formed around using these little paper cards instead of a controller or something."

Raf wasn't much of a card game player due to his preferences for computers...but he knew about the game somewhat...and seeing a live, breathing digimon? He...was just as surprised as everyone else.

"Yeah, and Digimon is the hottest one. In Japan anyway, not as popular here in the States." She looked at Dukemon.

"Didn't know that you really were called Dukemon. The translations are confusing."

"Oh?" the massive knight digimon looked at the girl in amusement, "And what do they call me here?"

Miko thought about that for a moment, "Something like...Gallantmon...or something, not sure how they got that actually..."

Despite that, Dukemon looked amused by that even more, "Not bad actually..."

"Given what I saw out there, it's pretty fitting." Arcee admitted.

The Digimon paused at that for a moment, before Miko asked what everyone else was thinking.

"So how did a REAL LIFE DIGIMON, wind up here?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, the Digimon looked at everyone. They surely had been wondering about that for a while now, even before they found out what he was.

"Why, that is a very interesting question my dear," Dukemon pointed out, "And I do owe you all a bit of a tale, don't I?"

"It would be nice."

"Well, the answer is quite simple." Dukemon replied.

"I came here looking for my Tamer."

"...Your what?"

"My human partner of course. Digimon thrive when working with humans, and it allows us to become stronger and achieve new forms. Very few know of my younger forms, as I was not created by the method most Digimon were. I was created on accident by a single human."

That nearly floored the entire team.

Sure, being a creature from a strange...digital world from inside the human race's internet was one thing, but a single human also created something that could fight on Megatron's level...and win?

"You weren't created like other...digimon?" Arcee asked awkwardly.

Dukemon almost laughed at how awkward that sounded for the bot in question to ask, "Why yes. You see, most of my kind are first created within out digital realm, but such a being as myself was brought about in a different manner."

"What..." they all seemed confused.

Dukemon's eyes flashed stormy blue again, "Perhaps it'd be best if my tamer explained it." the Digimon stated.

Before a single bot could respond, the Digimon started to glow as lines of data ran up its body and encircled it.

Then without warning, Dukemon started to glow, an intense bright light obscuring his form as it grew more intense.

Eventually, the bots and the humans had to cover their eyes/optics as the light grew so intense that it filled the entire room.

But when the light finally died down, EVERYONE was shocked at what was standing in Dukemon's place...or to be more precise, who was.

"Hi guys…" Jack waved awkwardly, "How's it going?"

**A/N: OH BOY! Jack's got some splainin ta do! So sorry this chapter was meant to go up a few hours earlier, but a lot of things distracted me. Anyway, epic action chapter, wasn't it? This was a lot of fun to write, but I want to make one thing clear. It will be a while before Dukemon returns, and next time he does, he will find the cons to be harder to face than before. But with that said, what'd you guys think of the chapter huh? Good, bad, meh? Let me know in the reviews, and if you've got questions or ideas, let me know via PM or Review, kay? **

**Oh, and there are two spots open in the OCT, so hurry hurry hurry if you're interested!**

**Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Meet Guilmon

The bots...hell,_ everyone_ was utterly shocked when they saw Jack. They didn't have the words to describe how they , no, that wasn't entirely true. They did have one particular phrase that could sum it up.

"What...the...scrap..." every bot and human said in unison.

Jack let out an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head in the meanwhile. This was going to be awkward, there was no denying it. There was a lot the boy had done in the past the bots had no idea about. Trying to explain it all to them was going to be a very long process.

Still, at least he wouldn't have to suffer through that alone. Because whatever attention Jack's shift from Dukemon to his normal form had gained, his companion drew even more attention. Especially when he straightened up and yawned. Jack inwardly groaned at how long the introductions were going to take. Especially since everyone present looked utterly shocked.

Miko stared at the creature, wide eyed, "What... is that?"

The creature that stood next to Jack was a four and a half foot tall bipedal lizard. It was mostly red, with a bright white belly and various black markings covering its wrists shoulders and ankles. It also bore a similar symbol on its midsection as Dukemon did. Its arms were relatively long, with three spikes on the end each one. It's square head cocked to the side while it blinked it's amber eyes.

It looked up at the bots in curiosity, and its bat wing like ears twitched in unison with its tail. There wasn't any fear, or caution, or even tension in its eyes. Just curiosity at what the bots where..

"Hi." the strange creature said, displaying an almost gravelly voice that also fit quite well with both its appearance and the expression in its eyes. It even waved at the bots, showing a friendly attitude despite how...strange the situation was.

But upon seeing the creature at Jack's side, Miko responded in her standard fashion, "OH MY GOD, THAT IS ADORABLE!" she squealed, jumping up and down in place.

The creature looked confusingly at the girl (and the strange stars in her eyes), even tilting its head to the side, which earned another squeal from Miko. It then looked toward Jack with the same confusing, for which the teen sighed at.

"Don't worry. She's normally like that." he patted the creature on the head, "You'll get used to it buddy."

The creature smiled innocently "Okay." Miko squealed again.

But while Miko found this new creature utterly adorable, Arcee was of a different mindset. She nearly stomped over to Jack, and towered over the teen. Jack gulped and looked up at Arcee with a nervous smile.

"Hey Arcee…"

She crossed her arms, "Jack. Explain."

The teen gulped, he knew that tone quite well. It was Arcee's 'You're in for it if you don't explain right this instant' tone. Something he dreaded almost as much as when his mother used it. That however, was just nightmare fuel.

"Well," Jack scratched the back of his head, "I guess I should start with the basics..."

Clearing his voice, the teen gestured over to the strange creature, "This, is Guilmon, my Digimon and...other partner."

"Hi." Guilmon waved again, not realizing how awkward this was for Jack.

Arcee raised a brow, "Other...partner?" she asked.

Miko snickered and looked at Jack, with a look that said, 'You're so boned dude.'

Jack nodded awkwardly. Gulping perhaps the biggest time in all of his life, Jack turned back to Arcee with a pleading look that said, 'Please, let me explain before you hurt me...'

"Arcee." Optimus boomed. The femme looked at the Prime, "Let Jack explain before we jump to conclusions."

She sighed, "Fine, fine." and looked at Jack.

Jack's shoulders slumped, "It's a long, long story really..." he sighed while Guilmon looked around eagerly, his curiosity taking hold somewhat.

After all, he was just as confused as these other Digimon were... they were Digimon, right? They looked like ones at least. He didn't know about any humans that were thirty feet tall and made of metal.

Arcee crossed her arms, "We've got time." she stated firmly.

Jack sighed again, "Look, it started about four years ago..."

_Jasper Nevada, Four Years ago…_

The sun was high, the summer air was nice and fresh, and for most people at the time it would seem like it was quite a nice day when everything was considered. People could run around without a care in the world, fulfilling whatever goal they had for the day.

Well, most people could anyway. But upon such a nice day, a young twelve year old boy wasn't having the best day regardless. He rarely did have good days, and this sunny day was no exception to the rule.

"Vince, give them back!" Jack cried, and tried swiping his cards from the much taller boys hands.

Vince let out an annoying laugh at Jack's plight. He always teased the boy for his differences. Be it his relatively small size, his love of sci-fi, or in today's case, his interest in the Digimon trading card game.

"Loser, you want your dumb Digimon card back?" Vince taunted, holding them out of reach. Jack ground his teeth together angrily. It wasn't his fault he liked Digimon, they were just a fun pass time for him. But of course, pricks like Vince associated Japanese card games with losers, so this made Jack a prime target for Vince.

It didn't help matters that not that many people around Jasper were interested in such a pass time either. Being the 'middle of nowhere' town that it was, a card game like Digimon wasn't nearly as popular in Jasper as it was other places. So while most kids collected things like baseball cards or something a bit more normal, Jack sometimes seemed like the odd ball for liking such a strange looking game series.

"Yes!" Jack insisted, making and failing yet another attempt to take his card back.

Vince cackled, "Almost got it that time Darby. Come on, you can do it!"

The bully was the worst though. Unlike the others, who simply thought it was an odd hobby, Vince seemed to use it as an excuse to openly mock the boy. And for the most part he got away with it.

"Vince!" Jack whined, almost grabbing the card, but failing yet again.

Now, Jack wasn't a naive boy even for his young age. He had tried to get some help with this problem before, but every time he had, nothing would happen. After all, it was just a small card, what was the big deal?

However, it was a big deal to Jack, and it was one of the reasons why he refused to give up despite how many times he failed. If the boy was anything, he was determined.

"I seriously don't understand you like this junk anyway." Vince muttered, using one hand to push Jack back while he observed the card with his other.

He snorted, "Looks like just a bunch of lame doodles or something..."

"Shut up!" Jack yelled.

And of course, the card in particular had sentimental value to him. Gift from his dad before he left. Though Jack would never admit it to anyone, especially Vince.

Vince gave a quick look at the boy and then shrugged, "Whatever."

Then proceeded to tear the card in half. Eyes widening in horror, the young boy could only watch helplessly as Vince tossed the two halves of the card behind him, not even looking back at what he had done.

"Enjoy your weird game Jacky, see you later." he called mockingly, waving back at the distraught boy.

But Jack wasn't paying attention to the bully. Instead, he merely watched as the torn bits of the card floated down through the air and landed in his hands. No amount of tape and glue would fix this card.

He could even feel some tears start to swell up in his eyes. Tears of anger and loss, "I..."

He wiped at his eyes, looking at the remains of the card. It wasn't the most amazing card he had, it was just an Agumon card, but… it was the origin that made it valuable to him.

"Damn it Vince..." he muttered. Why did he have to go and do that? It's not like Jack had been bugging him about it or anything.

Heck, Jack had been minding his own business when Vince came up and swiped the card from his hands. It wasn't fair, Jack hadn't done anything wrong and this had happened as a result of someone else stumbling upon him

It just wasn't fair.

Glaring slightly at the bully as he walked away, Jack huffed and turned away. He wanted to go yell at Vince, to ask what his problem was...but he knew what would have happened if he did. He'd get his butt kicked. Vince was twice his weight and a good head and shoulders higher than Jack. And besides, he wasn't worth the effort.

Jack looked at the card in his hands and sighed. There wasn't much he could do. The card was out of circulation now from what he'd heard, they'd stopped making Agumon's for the next gen. So this card really was gone...

"Darn..." he sighed, sagging his arms.

Jack could always try and find some tape and see if he could fix it but that wouldn't matter. It would still be ripped, torn in half. Basically, it was useless now. It was just a broken piece of his past now, nothing more to it than that.

And another piece connecting to his dad was gone. Jack clenched his fists before tightening.

"Why'd you have to do that Vince?" he asked no one in particular. Walking to the edge of the playground, Jack sat on the ground and crossed his legs, moping. He had a large collection of the cards, but the Agumon card was his favorite and irreplaceable. No card he knew of could replace it. Unless..

Jack suddenly perked up, "Why don't I make my own replacement card?"

Sure, it wouldn't be official or anything and it seemed silly when thinking about it, but Jack didn't care. Not one bit. It would be his to create, his to determine what it looked like and what it did. And really, it could be exactly what it wanted to be, mean what he wanted it to mean. His own little part of the game he enjoyed so much.

"Yeah! That's perfect." he pounded his hands together, just thinking about the possibilities that he could come up with.

He reached into his backpack and pulled out his notepad and pencil, "Yeah, it could be like Agumon, but bigger, better stats..." he started sketching.

The boy bit the end of his pencil as he thought, "Hmm..." now, if there was one thing that Jack had that benefited this idea was...well, an interesting imagination.

It was what got him into the game in the first place, and why he enjoyed it so much at all. The designs, the powers, it all could be so out there that...well, any kind of Digimon could be anything really.

And since Jack already had an idea to work off of, his mind quickly went to work, reshaping his old favorite into something new. His mind was pretty much in overdrive at this point, sketching out the replacement card and filling it with new stats and such.

Now, Jack wasn't a great artist, never had been, but this little fact didn't deter him from drawing anyway. And slowly but surely, the Digimon began to take a rough shape on his notepad.

Just with Agumon before it, the Digimon had the basic shape of a dinosaur although, it had many more features that would work with such creatures It had a much longer tail and actual ear-like appendages for one.

He also added a few more details to the creature, feeling a bit more creative than what the previous creature had been. More details to its skin, longer arms, and a larger overall body. Maybe a more muscled tone too.

"Oh, and red." he mumbled to himself.

That was the one thing he didn't like about Agumon. He was yellow. Red was a way cooler color. Or blue, but a dinosaur shouldn't be blue. It didn't fit in the preteen's mind.

"Hm..." Jack muttered, looking at his nearly complete creature in thought...

"Something seems...missing..." he mused. It was almost complete...but just, it needed one more thing.

Then, it came to Jack like a gear coming unstuck in his head, "That's it!" He drew a small little symbol on its midsection, Three triangles spaced around a center triangle, pointing downwards.

Jack smiled triumphantly as he examined his creation, "Perfect!"

Now that he had the overall appearance and style of his own little creature down, Jack just had to think of the next most important feature of his creation. Its name.

He tapped his pencil to his chin, "Now... What to call you..."

There didn't seem to be much to giving a Digimon a name, but for the life of him, Jack couldn't think of one. He started throwing out names at random"Agunamon? No, that's unoriginal. Dragonmon? That's just silly..." Jack continued to tap his chin with his pencil.

He needed an original name that fit the appearance of the digimon he'd drawn out, but what to call it? What would fit the red creature that resided on his notepad? Inspiration suddenly struck like a bolt of lightning.

"How about...Guilmon?" he wondered allowed, testing the name on his tongue.

He had never heard such a name before, nor had he ever seen another digimon with something similar to it. So he wasn't ripping off any of them. And looking down at the drawing in question, it just sounded...right.

A happy smile crossed his face. "Perfect!" Looking down at his little sketch, Jack wrote the name of his creation right under its feet in big bold letters.

"There!" he smiled, taking a second to take all of his creation in all of its details and glory.

"Now that is awesome." he decided, then quirked his lips, "Now I just need to give you your stats."

Now actually thinking about it, the stats sounded like the most...difficult part of this little experiment of Jack's. Sure, he managed to make an interesting and unique looking little Digimon...but really, how could he make the stats work too?

It couldn't be too powerful or too weak, as Jack was aware of how this could leave a bad taste in his mouth. Making him too powerful would be no fun, but he wasn't going to make him Agumons level either...

Jack smiled, "I got it! I'll focus on attack, speed, and endurance."

It seemed like a nice little way to go about it. Sure, he would be more powerful than most rookies but nothing that would seem too game breaking either. Flipping over the note pad's current piece of paper, Jack began to right down the basic necessities for his stats. Which of course, lead to a very exciting part of the design process for this little idea of his. The attacks.

"Hmm, lets see..." he thought aloud.

"Ah! Got it!"

He started scribbling them down, "Rock Breaker... Pyro Sphere..."

Jack tapped his chin, "And... Quake-a-lator? No that's silly. Rock'n'Roll Breaker? Yeah, that works."

With his creation having enough attacks that he thought were enough, Jack smiled at the roster of moves his own personal Digimon had. Thinking of attacks might have sounded goofy, but imagining kicking someone's butt with them was satisfying enough. With that out if the way however, Jack looked at his creation and though about anything that he might of been missing.

He didn't think so at first... And then he realized, "Oh wait, the personality!"

No one who looked at a simple Digimon card would actually think of a personality at first sight. Most would just think of a weird looking monster and that's all. But Jack wanted to make his creation a bit more...personal, like it was a real thing. So, the teen quickly got to thinking of something that would not only fit Guilmon's appearance, but its style and powers as well.

"Hmm..." Looking at what he came up with, Guilmon seemed to be a fierce fighter, but, " He almost looks like a puppy."

It was an odd choice to be sure since Jack hadn't been going for that at the start, but he liked it. Maybe it had to do with who he based it off or...just how Jack had drawn Guilmon, but it really did remind him of a puppy.

Something goofy and cute that would want to goof around with you all day without a care in the world. And then when things got serious, he'd be loyal to a fault, never turning his back on you.

"Perfect." he decided. There was nothing left to add at this point. In his mind, he'd made the perfect Digimon.

Almost odd that it had to be Vince destroying something Jack treasured quite a bit for him to create such a thing. But it at the very least got Jack's mind off what the bully had done. Instead, he had something quite unique to enjoy now. Something Jack had created on his own, poured his heart and his soul into. His own friend, created just for him.

"Well Guilmon," Jack chuckled to himself and looked at the picture, "Nice to meet you."

_Later, Darby Residence…_

With both the low and high parts of his day behind him, Jack eventually returned home with a smile on his face. Sure, what Vince had done had hurt him quite a bit, but now the young boy had more than enough to keep himself busy. Like figuring out how he could fit his own personal touch into his deck already.

It wouldn't be easy, and he'd never be able to use him in a tournament, but just having him in there would be an interesting change. Jack arrived home from the bus to find his mom was still at work as usual. He didn't let this damper his spirits, instead heading to the kitchen. After making himself a quick sandwich, the boy spilled his cards and damage counter onto the table.

"Alright, let's see here..."

Now despite how limited the game itself was in Jasper, Jack did have quite the collection of cards of various levels and types in his possession. Many of them had been left over from earlier years, but he had done a good job in keeping the cards in a nice condition. And along with the faux card he had made out of some cardboard paper and a card protector while he was at school, the teen was more than ready to fit Guilmon in with the rest of his lineup.

"Let's find a nice good spot for you..." he murmured, moving his cards around. His finger brushed a card out of the pile and Jack paused. He looked at the card and frowned.

"Hello?" he asked, plucking it from the deck. It was bright shiny blue with a yellow symbol on both sides, dead center in the middle.

Jack looked at the card with a frown and a narrowed expression, "Where did you come from?"

Now, Jack knew his cards fairly well. He had them for quite some time and he would have remembered such a thing if he had it in his collection. But upon searching his memory, Jack drew a blank. He had no idea what this card was.

"Alright," he shrugged. Maybe someone at school had a secret hobby he didn't know about.

"Let's see what you're worth." He slid the card through the machine that was a part of the card game. And upon doing so, the numbers displayed went fact, the card reader that Jack had scanned the card through even started to glow along with sparks shooting out from the side.

"AH!" Jack shouted in surprise, dropping both the card and the reader onto the table in the meanwhile. The sparks and sudden light soon faded, but the strange numbers continued to fluctuate.

Jack sighed, lifting the reader back up, "Oh great, is this thing busted?"

As he did though, the reader suddenly flared with light again. But for some reason, Jack didn't drop streaks of electricity sprouted from the small device but Jack didn't really notice it. He just held the small device, watching in awe as it glowed bright with a strange light.

Then, without any warning, the small card reader started to change. It suddenly shrank down so it easily fit in Jack's lone hand, instead of both of them. The reader function was still on its side and it was bright white with red highlights. A lone screen rested in the center of the device, completely empty.

Jack blinked repeatedly, "...what?" he muttered, that being the only real word he could use to describe what had just occurred in front of him.

In all his time spent playing the card game, Jack had never, not even once heard of something like that happening. And yet, despite his surprise. Jack couldn't help but look on at the strange device with both confusion and slowly turned it over in his hands, examining the little details on its smooth white surface. There didn't appear to be a battery case on it, and it looked much to smooth to be any reader he'd ever seen.

Jack looked back at the device in his hands, and the gears suddenly clicked "It's a digivice!"

How he had one or...well, why his reader had become one was just a mystery to Jack as it was a few moments ago. But regardless of that, the teen looked on in utter awe at what he held in his hands. It was...well, something he knew of from various things that came from the franchise. One being how the series itself started out as, a small virtual pet series.

But what Jack had in his hands was quite different from any version of a digivice he had ever seen before. It looked more like the ones from the TV series, but even more advanced and sleek than those ones.

Jack let out a laugh, "A digivice. An actual digivice. I wonder, does that make me a tamer?"

The mere thought of that made Jack almost laugh at himself. Such a comment was like the ones he used to have when he was younger, when he used to play pretend and such and such. Sure, he might have no idea why his card reader had become...a digivice, but he wasn't honestly going to think that was possible. Digimon weren't real after all.

After he finished laughing though, the teen did look back over at his cards, "I wonder if this thing still can read cards..." he mused.

He grabbed a card and slid it through the reader. Nothing. Jack frowned, "Let's try that again," he slid it through. Nothing.

"Hm..." he muttered, grabbing yet another card and trying it. But yet again, nothing happened. Not even a 'Not compatible' message appeared. There was nothing.

"Great." he murmured, "Just...great. It's busted now." he growled. These things were expensive to replace, and without one, he couldn't...

Jack looked at his custom card, "...Hmm..."

There was no way. Digimon cards were specially created with a bar code that could be read by a card reader and his was...nothing but a piece of card board paper. But, it wasn't like this situation was strange enough already...

"And really." he mused, picking up the card in question, "...what do I have to lose?"

Looking at it, Jack tried running it through the digivice. Only for it to jam in the card reader. The custom card was too thick.

Jack scowled, "Darn it."

Making sure he didn't accidently rip the card itself, Jack pressed the card harder into the digivice's reader. But like with the other cards, the same thing occurred again. As in, the card remained jammed.

Growing impatient, Jack then tried to pull the card back out and try again. However, the boy quickly found that his card was now stuck. He slammed the device on the table with a curse.

"Dang it!" Not only had his reader had been turned into a strange yet pointless digivice, but now his own personal card was now stuck in the thing!

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Jack sat back on his couch and groaned. His day was going from bad, to good, and now back to bad...again. But while the teen had his eyes off the strange device, he didn't notice a strange light appear in the reader section of the digivice.

It shone brightly (It's amazing Jack missed it) and then the card started to slide through, page by page. Each one was torn off and scanned, fluttering off the table. The process was repeated several times, and then it was over, with a ping.

Jack's eyes flashed to the device, right as the light died down, "What?"

Blinking slightly, Jack reached over and picked up the strange digivice again. He briefly ignored the fact that his card was free or that all the pages he had attached to it had been removed and instead focused on the device itself.

The reason for this was quite clear. When Jack had first looked at the device, its screen was blank, showing that it was empty. But now...well, it had a small looking sprite on its display screen.

In fact, it was something Jack recognized quite quickly, "A...digi-egg..."

His mind went blank and his eyes wide. A digi-egg? That... That didn't make sense! He expected like a small read out, a description, or something to come from scanning a card. But...a digi-egg? His card wasn't even real! It was card board! His card becoming a digi-egg...

"No way..." The gears began clicking again, "I really am a Tamer."

He didn't know how it was possible, or even if it was possible...but for all intents and purposes, Jack appeared to be a tamer... He had a digivice that was more than just a toy and now...he had his own digi-egg.

His hands began to shake a little, "I don't...believe it..." he muttered.

"I'm a tamer!" he whooped, practically jumping in the air. That was a dream come true for the boy! And it would be his own custom Digimon!

Jack looked back down at the pulsing egg, "I wonder when it'll hatch?" he mused to no one in particular. He was just so excited to see his Digimon hatch!

_The Egg…_

Silence. That's all the Digimon could hear.

Stuck inside his own little egg, the Digimon sat in relative silence ever since his creation. And while that had been only moments ago for the outside world, the Digimon itself was quite...unsure about how long it had been.

And really, it wondered how long it would be trapped in such a...boring place. It knew almost nothing about laid beyond its shell of a home and really, it wondered...what was out there?What lay beyond its tight prison? Did anything lay beyond it? Or was this all it would know?

It certainly hoped for the former, as his current prison was...not that pleasant. Still, it had no way of knowing about such until the time arrived. A time it surely hoped would be sooner rather than later. After all, this cramped space was far too uncomfortable for any Digimon...

_Darby Residence…_

With his...amazing discovery in his mind, Jack couldn't help but keep the strange digivice quite close from that moment forward. He had no idea what could happen, or what was going to happen but that didn't matter, even in the slightest to the boy.

All that mattered to him was that sometime, somewhere, he'd meet his partner Digimon, meet Guilmon. He wondered how, but didn't think too much on it. Instead, he'd pretty much finished his homework (Record time) and watched TV, occasionally checking his new digivice to see if anything had changed on the egg. So far that was not the case.

At about 6:00 PM though, his mother returned was actually a bit early when he considered her normal time for coming home, something that made Jack at least a bit happy.

With the sound of his mother's car rolling into the garage, Jack turned around and watched as his mother made her way inside the house. She looked a bit tired (which was normal for the most part), but otherwise she was fine.

"Hey mom!" he greeted happily.

June gave her son a tired, but happy smile as she shut the door behind her, "Hey sweety." she replied and entered the living room fully.

She paused at the cards on the kitchen table and put her hands on her hips, "Jack, what did I say about leaving your cards on the table?"

"'Oh," Jack muttered, realizing what had happened. He had been so excited with what had happened...that he kind of forgot his cards...

"Sorry..." he apologized.

June smiled and let out a chuckle, "Well, come and clean them up then mister." she said.

"Okay." Jack hopped off the couch and scurried over, scooping up the cards best he could.

He dropped a few in the meanwhile, but he got most of them in his first go. He then picked up the others, although it was a bit awkward with how disorganized the horde of cards he was holding already was. It made June laugh just a bit, seeing the little boy scamper about like he was prone to do.

Eventually though, he managed to gather all of them up, organizing the deck into an even pile, "There, all done."

June raised a brow, "Oh really? Then what's this?" she demanded playfully, picking up the scattered pieces of paper on the ground.

Horror spread across Jack's face as he recognized the pieces of paper, "No mom, wait!"Nearly dropping his deck onto the ground, Jack almost comically leaped at his mother and tried to swipe the card out of her hand.

Unfortunately for him though, Jack was just a few feet too far away and missed his chance by a long shot. Giggling once again, June took her chance and looked at the little pieces of paper she had found, instantly noticing her son's messy handwriting.

She let out an amused chuckle as she read it over, "Guilmon, eh?"

"Mom!" Jack whined, turning a fierce red. This was so embarrassing.

"What?" June asked innocently, "Just an interesting name is all..." she chuckled again, almost brushing off her son's whine.

Jack however didn't seem so amused, "Mom..."

"Oh calm down honey," June patted him on the head and handed him the card back, "I think it's great you're taking up some sketching."

"Thanks..." he muttered, glad that she wasn't going to tease him anymore about it...well mostly anyway. Jack, even at his age knew how much his mother liked to mess with him...

"Though I hope you don't plan on bringing one home." she added as a joke.

And there it was!

"Ugh..." Jack groaned in both embarrassment due to his mother's sense of humor. And a bit of worry considering what...well, had happened already.

June giggled and rubbed his head happily, "Kidding Jack."

Jack sighed, "I know."

If there was one thing Jack hoped for, it was that his mother would lay off the teasing once he got older. But for some reason...he doubted that.

Still giggling a bit at her son, June walked over to the table and finally put down her things now that the table was clear.

She then turned back to him,"So besides some sketching, what've you been up to?" she asked.

Jack briefly considered the idea of telling her what happened, how his card reader morphed into a digivice and how he was going to become a tamer… And then considered against it. Besides her little jokes, Jack had a idea of what might have happened if Jack considered telling her about it.

Not only would she get worried about the whole thing with Vince, but trying to tell her about the whole digimon thing? He might have been twelve, Jack was no idiot. So instead he just gave her a shrug.

"Nothing much." he lied, "Pretty boring day."

June raised a brow, but didn't question him. Instead she smiled, "Well, that's good. Nothing bad or anything? No trouble?"

Despite thinking of Vince for a second or two, Jack shook his head, "Nope, just a regular boring old day." he said.

June smiled again, "Well that's good to hear. How about I make us a nice healthy dinner to go with it."

Jack winced, "Ugh..."He knew what that meant...much to his stomach's displeasure...

"Aw, come on now." June smiled, placing her hands on her hips, "It'll be nice, and good for you."

Jack hung his head...his taste bugs didn't think so.

"You'll be fine." June said confidently.

"Okay mom." he sighed. Not worth ruining what was becoming a great day over it.

"Good," June patted the boy on the head again, ruffling up his hair this time.

"Now go wash up, and I'll get started on it."

"But I'm not dirty!" he protested.

"You still need to wash up." June replied.

"But mom!"

"No buts. Go wash up."

Looking at the stern look on her face, Jack pouted for a moment before begrudgingly nodded. June smiled once again, "Good, now run along. I've got to start cooking."

"Alright..." Jack muttered, slumping before turning away to the local bathroom.

June just shook her head as he left, "Oh my little boy. What will I do with you?"

Jack didn't hear this as he entered the restroom to clean himself up. As he did though, he heard a distinct electronic cracking sound emanating from his pants. His hand flew to his pocket and pulled out the Digivice. The egg sprite on screen was broken in two!

"He hatched!" Jack had been waiting all day for this to happen, but he had no idea when it would truely happen! Heck, he was even starting to wonder if it really wood.

But low and behold, the digi-egg was cracked open, leaving a void between the two egg shells.

"Oh man!" Jack hopped up and down in excitement.

He settled down a moment later, "Now I just need to find him..."

And there was the first snag. The screen on his digivice now had a small compass on it. But...how was he going to go find his Digimon now that his mom was home? Jack looked at the bathroom window. The compass was pointing directly out of it.

He gulped, "Well... nothing ventured, nothing gained I guess."

He was sure that he was going to be in huge trouble the moment his mother found out. But...at least one thing was certain. She might be as mad if Jack brought back a live Digimon with him. So it was a pretty even chance either way of getting in trouble.

Jack just sighed "Well Guilmon, here I come."

So, after taking a deep breath, Jack closed the bathroom door behind him and made his way to the nearby window and slipping his way outside.

"It's a good thing we don't have a second floor..." he muttered before looking at his digivice.

It was still pointing in that same direction, behind a line of semi completed houses, "Weird..." Jack muttered.

And then electricity surged along the nearby power lines, crackling and sizzling. A few transformers even detonated into a shower of sparks.

Jack jumped in surprise, "What the!?"

The electricity just came out of nowhere, and the odd thing was...it was all traveling in a similar direction as where Jack's digivice was pointing too...

"Could it be..." he wondered out. However, the beeping from Jack's digivice quickly shook the teen out of such thoughts.

"Focus on it later." he decided, and followed the compass. He scaled the first fence and hopped down, running across the unfinished lawn. His mother's house was one of the few completed so far. Another year and these houses would be too.

Still, luckily that also meant that Jack was able to roam freely through the street without someone spotting him. Taking a deep breath, the twelve year old boy quickly followed the compass in his hands, which would hopefully lead him to not only his Digimon...but something that could save him from his mother's wraith.

"Maybe he won't be too far..." he muttered, thinking that he might be able to get back home before his mother even noticed he was gone.

After ten minutes of walking (And hearing a transformer a few blocks back explode) he began to doubt it. Still, he pressed on, and the compass suddenly veered right. Jack looked to his right to see the basic foundation of a house not even laid in the empty lot. Only a large hole in the ground, with several wires running into it.

Jack frowned and walked to the edge of the hole,"Is this where he's-"

A bright light flashed from the hole. The light shone brightly, almost acting as if a sudden beam of energy was blasting through the air and into the sky. Hell, Jack could have sworn that he actually saw that at one point.

"Whoa!" Jack muttered, shielding his eyes from the sudden explosion of light. It was enough that he almost wished he brought sunglasses with him.

Eventually though, the light finally seemed to start dying down…for a few seconds at least. Then it flared up again, this time acting almost like a bomb. White light engulfed the entire city, blinding Jack and anyone within a three mile radius.

When the light vanished, Jack lay on his rear, rubbing at his eyes, "What was that?" he asked to himself, rubbing at his eyed until his vision slowly returned.

With the blurriness finally vanishing, Jack noticed that he had been completely surrounded in a massive cloud of smoke or steam, something that had erupted from the hole the teen had found.

"Wow..." Jack muttered, squinting his eyes, trying to see deeper into the strange fog.

The digivice in his hands beeped once (As if it were annoyed Jack forgot it) and Jack looked down. The arrow was replaced with an X sign.

"X marks the spot..." Jack realized.

He was had arrived, his Digimon was down there. Gulping, Jack felt just a tad nervous when it came to what he was about to come in contact with. A Digimon, a real live Digimon...his own Digimon.

"Okay..." he sighed, steadying himself.

"Now or never..." he approached the edge of the crater, his entire body going tense. Peering in, Jack saw nothing at first. But then, a shadow appeared in the center of the crater. And as the smoke cleared...

It was Guilmon! He was around four and a half feet tall and nearly looked exactly like Jack had envisioned him! Nearly because now he lacked Jack's...less than fantastic artwork, with all of his body now looking completely real and alive.

"I don't believe it..." Jack muttered, almost unknowingly. He was just too shocked. A real Digimon was sitting in the crater before him, sniffing at the air like a confused animal. It was like a dream come true for the boy!

Of course, seeing this creature sparked two reactions out of the boy...the urge to fly off the hand and run up to the creature with all the excitement a boy of his age had (which was quite a lot).Or, to just stand there in utter shock.

Eventually though, Jack chose a compromise between the two of them. He slowly started climbing down the crater towards Guilmon, who's amber eyes were looking over the area with great curiosity.

Jack decided to take a diplomatic route, "H-hey there, Guilmon," he started, trying to get the Digimon's attention.

A squeaking sound interrupted him, and caught the red Digimons attention. He looked over to see a nearby rat squeaking at the edge of the crater. Guilmon cocked his head to the side in curiosity.

Not noticing the rat for a moment, Jack continued to approach the Digimon with the utmost caution...or at least as much as he could at the moment. However, before he could reach the dinosaur Digimon, Guilmon crocked his head upward and opened his mouth.

Then, before Jack could even make a sound longer than 'huh?', a intense red light formed inside of the Digimon's mouth before Guilmon suddenly unleashed a massive fireball, destroying the rat instantly along with a fairly large portion of the crater...and everything behind it.

Jack immediately fell back on his rear, a shocked and terrified expression on his face. This wasn't what he was expecting! That was... terrifying! And then Guilmon looked over at him with that same curious look he'd worn upon seeing the rat.

"Oh no..." Jack muttered in fear.

Was this really going to happen?! Was his dream going to seriously turn into a nightmare right then and there!? The Digimon slowly approached him with the utmost curiosity.

"Guilmon...please..." Jack whimpered and scooted back.

The Digimon continued approaching him as Jack covered his head and pretty much trembled in fear. After all, given what he'd just seen, he had every right to be terrified. He felt a shadow fell over him. Guilmon was standing over him. He heard the digimon take a few sniffs and then...

Well, did something he'd not been expecting. He nuzzled Jack's arm instead of frying him. With having gone frozen for a second or two, Jack blinked slightly before finally opening his eyes and looking up. There, Guilmon was standing with that same curious look in his eyes.

But instead of simply burning Jack to ash like the teen had expected him to, the Digimon was just kindly looking at him. And upon having the Digimon nudging him once again, Jack let out a small laugh, feeling his fear and worry slowly draining away.

After a few moments of this, Jack finally managed to get out a few words, "This is... so cool..." he whispered.

The Digimon smiled happily, a big toothy grin. It would have scared Jack a minute ago, but now it just looked adorable.

Jack laughed a little, "I really created you, didn't I?"

The Digimon didn't openly reply to that, but for the moment Jack didn't care all that much. It had finally happened, he had his own Digimon. It was something he had only really imagined during his younger years when he used to run around the house playing pretend. But now? There was no pretend, the creature standing in front of him was proof enough of that.

"My own real life digimon," he laughed happily.

Guilmon seemed to smile at that, and Jack cautiously reached his hands up to pet the dragon like beings face. Guilmon nuzzled into it, letting out what sounded like a mix between a purr and a chuckle, "Hi, Guilmon," Jack finally greeted, letting out a full laugh now.

Guilmon seemed to like the sound of that and nuzzled into Jack's hands, letting out what Jack could almost swear sounded like a 'Hi'.

Still, that didn't stop the boy from laughing in joy at what he was experiencing. How his day had started so crappy and yet ended up like this, he would never know. And honestly, he didn't care _how _it happened either.

He was just happy the day had taken such an amazing turn. There was only one problem. How was he going to get home with Guilmon?" Sure, getting him through the streets would be easy since Jack and his mother were the only ones who were living there actively at the time...

But how was he going to get him...actually back to his house?

"Oh boy..."

Guilmon cocked his head to the side, "Hmmm?" he hummed.

"This is not going to be easy." Jack sighed. But he'd think of something else. He was pretty smart for the most part.

_Later That Night…_

After sneaking the large Digimon out of the crater before someone arrived to check it out (someone likely noticed the explosion Guilmon had caused), Jack and his Digimon quickly made their way back home as fast as they could...

Which wasn't that fast seeing how Guilmon had the urge to investigate everything he found interesting while on the way. Jack even wondered if he added a bit too much curiosity when he created the digimon.

Still, insane amounts of curiosity or not, the two did eventually make it back to his house. Jack peaked in the bathroom window to see the door still locked shut tight. He let out a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall. Guilmon looked at Jack curiously.

"Safe." the boy whispered in relief.

If his mother had questioned where he was, Jack was almost sure that she would have unlocked the door by now. So he was safe for the most part. But, upon opening the window wide enough for him to slip through, Jack found himself in yet another problem.

How was he going to get Guilmon through the window? The Digimon was pretty big, and he wasn't sure how much Guilmon could understand. Still, he had to try.

Jack looked at his new partner Digimon, "I'm not sure if you can understand me Guilmon, but I'm going to climb in first. Then I need you to give me your claws so I can pull you in."

Guilmon cocked his head to the side, "Got it?" Jack asked

The young Digimon nodded, "Uh huh."

Instead of questioning him further just to be sure, Jack gave the Digimon a quick nod and went ahead inside the window and back into the bathroom. With that done however, the boy then turn back to the window and the Digimon outside of it.

"Alright Guilmon, are you ready?" Jack asked, still a bit unsure.

But much to his surprise and relief, Guilmon gave the teen a happy nod extended his claws through the gap in the window. He clacked them together, almost as if to say he was fully prepared.

"Okay," Jack smiled before grabbing the Digimon's claws, "Guilmon? I'm going to pull you inside now, alright?"

"Okay!" the Digimon said happily. He was a fast learner apparently.

Jack hid a smile, "Alright, on three. Ready?"

Guilmon nodded again, though Jack didn't see it "One, two, three!"

Jack heaved and managed to pull the Digimon up... And then they tumbled into the bathroom with a noisy crash, Guilmon landing on top of Jack, who realized he was quite heavy "Okay..." he moaned, "That could've gone better."

"Uh huh..." Guilmon said a bit more happily than Jack, most likely due to his position at the moment.

Luckily for Jack, the digimon eventually got off Jack and allowed the boy a chance to breath after he accidentally crushed Jack's small torso.

"Alright..." Jack muttered, regaining a bit of his breath after it was suddenly knocked out of him. With that done however, Jack then moved onto the next problem he would have...getting Guilmon back to his room without his mother noticing.

"This isn't going to be easy..." he mumbled, scratching his head.

And then... There was a heavy knock at the door, "Jackson Robert Darby! You open this door this minute young man!" she ordered.

"Wait, wha-" Jack had no time to react, as June pretty much busted down the door. Seriously, the door nearly when flying off its hinges when June kicked it down with a frown accompanying her upset expression.

"I have been calling your name for the last twenty five minutes young man!" she called out as she entered the bathroom, "What have you been doing in-"

But of course, her words suddenly came to a halt when June noticed her son...and the strange red creature standing behind him, who looked at her curiously.

Jack paled immediately, "Mom, I can explain."

Actually... he couldn't. Not really. He wasn't too good at that...

June remained unnaturally calm, "Jack... what is that?"

If Jack had to guess, that might have been due to the shock if anything...Still, it's not like Jack could have claimed that Guilmon was a stuff animal or...some weird doll or anything. So instead of making up some stupid excuse, Jack went out and took a leap of faith.

"Mom..." he gulped, "This...is Guilmon."

A very..._very_ large leap of faith.

Adding to the sudden surrealism of the situation, Guilmon waved happily and gave a friendly smile, "Hi," he greeted in his high pitched but gravelly voice.

At this point, June looked like she really was going to faint at this point, "Guilmon... the...the Digimon you had sketched this afternoon?" she asked weakly.

Yet again, Jack wasn't stupid enough to miss the queasy look on his mother's face. So, he tried to take things as easy as he could. Well, as easy as he could with Guilmon standing right next to him.

"Yes..." he nodded gently, trying not to sound like he was dropping a bag of bricks on his mother's head. The effect was that June didn't collapse... yet.

"I...I..." June still looked like she was still about to collapse though.

'Oh boy...' Jack gulped, quite worried if he might have to try and catch his mother if this became too much for her...which looked quite possible.

Yet despite that Guilmon didn't seem to even notice how odd the situation was, still acting just as cheery as before. Naive innocence seemed to be this Digimons motif. Something Jack might've bough, if he'd not seen what happened to that rat.

June took in a gulp, "H-how?"

Jack looked quite...conflicted when asked that. He had no idea how to explain it really, he didn't know exactly, "I..I'm not really sure..." he admitted, "There was a strange card I found...and well..."

He gestured to Guilmon, "One thing lead to another and... here he is."

Guilmon gave a friendly wave, "Hi!" he repeated. That and okay seemed to be the only words he knew. Maybe. Jack wasn't sure.

June just blinked at the strange little creature, almost ignoring just how...cheerful he was. She might have found it incredibly adorable if...well, she wasn't so shocked in the first place. And if he didn't have a mouth full of razor sharp teeth too.

She managed to not freak out though, and looked back at her son "Just...like...that?"

Jack nodded, "Just like that..."

He hung his head, still looking at June, "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"I...I don't..." June stumbled for a second, not really sure how to react to such a thing. Her son had brought to life...a Digimon, from a card game that he enjoyed and it was even one that he drew and made himself. How was she suppose to respond to that? As a mother, she expected her son to occasionally bring home a stray animal and beg to keep him as a pet. A Digimon though!?

One that apparently could talk and appeared quite friendly? Jack gave her big pleading eyes when he saw the hesitation.

'Oh...' June inwardly muttered. The boy had no idea how much of a low blow that was. Or he did know and inherited his mother's antics when it comes to playing to someone's emotions...

So after taking a moment to calm down the best she could, June sighed, "No, you're not..."

Jack's eyes lit up and a big smile crossed his face. He might have even cheered, until June said the words every boy feared.

"BUT!" she added. Jack froze, "You're going to take care of him, got it? You feed him, keep him clean, and for the love of god, make sure the neighbors don't see him."

Jack gave an innocent smile, "What neighbors?"

"Jack." June said firmly.

His shoulders slumped, "Okay." Jack sighed.

The neighborhood might have been empty for the most part at the moment, but even Jack couldn't ignore the fact that more people _would_ move in eventually, it was impossible to ignore.

"Jack." Junes tone was stern, "I'm serious here."

"I know, I understand..." Jack sighed again.

No telling what might happen if someone saw Guilmon. Probably mass hysteria if sci-fi movies where to be believed.

June's gaze softened slightly, "Good, I'm glad you do."

"Now then..." June turned her sights of Guilmon, who still seemed just as cheerful and happy as he had been throughout the entire conversation. Kind of like a puppy actually.

"About you're little friend..." June muttered, so many thoughts rushing through her head.

What did the little guy eat? What did he do in his spare time? Would he ruin their furniture? How smart was he? He could talk, that was a given. Guilmon looked at June with equal curiosity.

"Hi." he greeted again.

That was still rather unnerving for June. Like a dog talking to her. Cute for certain...but very surreal as well. Maybe she should have just gotten the boy a dog or a cat when he was younger.

'This...is going to need some getting used to...'

Taking a breath, June continued, "Guilmon, is it?"

The Digimon nodded happily, "Uh huh."

'So weird...'

"What exactly is it you... eat?"

He looked like something that would eat...meat. June almost had the urge to ask her son_ why_ he had to design him as another Dinosaur due to that.

"Hm?" Guilmon looked up in confusion for a moment before musing to himself for a second or two, "Hm..."

And if it wasn't for the fear that the Digimon might try to...eat them when he got hungry, June would have found that quite adorable too. Finally Guilmon spoke.

"I like bread." he decided.

June did a double take, "...Bread?"

"Uh huh." Guilmon nodded eagerly, "I like bread."

That was not what June had expected, especially from something that looked like it was from Jurassic Park. She even looked at her son for some type of explanation, but he just shrugged too. He'd never really decided on what Guilmon would like to eat. Still, it was better than the alternative...

"Alright," June said, starting to get used to the surrealism of the situation, "Bread it is."

Little did either know this would be the start of the arguably weirdest part in their lives. The situations that followed Guilmon's arrival into the Darby household where bizarre and dangerous. And given what Jack would stumble onto later on… that was saying a lot.

_Autobot HQ, Present Day…_

"And thats...pretty much it." Jack finished, while Guilmon smiled next to him. He quite enjoyed the story.

Everyone else though...well, their reactions were...as Jack had expected. Arcee didn't look mad/frustrated anymore, but along with the others, she was just...shocked at what she was just told.

Jack had created this creature...with nothing but a mysterious blue card, a card scanner, and a little doodle he made in one afternoon. The only one who wasn't just outright shocked at all of this was Miko. She was both amazed and just a tad jealous at the same time.

After all, she'd never known that not only was Jack a Digimon nut, but actually had a real life Digimon too! That was just too awesome for words. But Miko aside, the entire situation was bizarre for everyone. The other Autobots where just stunned and the remaining human…

Well, Raf wound up asking the obvious question, "So where's Guilmon been all this time? And why didn't you ever tell us about him?"

Jack shrugged, "You never asked."

Dead silence, followed by,"...That's it?" from Arcee.

"Well," Jack shrugged again, not knowing what to say really, "Yeah...I mean, would you have believed me if I told you this without Guilmon standing here with me as proof?"

Without the Digimon himself, Jack's story sounded just as strange as it did...and really, the bots (Miko and Raf too) would have likely just chalked it up with as a little kid's story if they didn't have the proof standing there in front of their eyes.

"True...but you haven't answered the first question," Ratchet pointed out, just now recovering from his original shock. A fact made obvious by the utterly dumbfounded tone in his voice,, "Where has this creature been?"

Jack and Guilmon both shared a uncomfortable look, "That's...an even longer story."

"We've got time." Arcee crossed her arms. She wasn't angry anymore, just a little upset Jack kept a massive secret like this from them.

Jack sighed. Of course they had time, they had nothing but time now that Megatron and the cons had been dealt with for now. So he decided to humor the bots and explain where Guilmon had been, "See, a few days after Guilmon arrived here, other Digimon started popping up around town. Not as nice as Guilmon though, in fact they had a habit of terrorizing the town. So we... well we put a stop to them. Anytime a rogue Digimon started causing trouble, we beat them."

"You beat them?" Raf asked, "You mean you transformed into that big Digimon you were just now?"

Jack shook his head, "Well, no. Not at first. Me and Guilmon were more than capable of doing it separately at first. With the more powerful ones just needing Guilmon here to Digivolve to beat them."

Now that just sparked even more questions, "Digivolve?"

Jack resisted the urge to sigh. There were going to be a lot of questions to answer, "Yes, Digivolve. Basically, it lets Guilmon evolve into a more powerful form. Dukemon is his Mega form. As powerful as he can get, and that requires a Bio-merge to achieve."

"Bio-merge?" Guilmon chuckled a bit upon hearing all of these questions. He was having flashbacks to his own curiosity when Jack brought him home. Though the Digimon did wonder where they were instead, he didn't complain. When Jack was ready, he'd explain everything to him. Something Guilmon learned was that Jack would always have an explanation of some kind for him. He just needed to be patient.

"It's basically what happens when me and Guilmon combine into one form, which as you saw was Dukemon. It basically means when biologically merge into one being...I think."

Jack didn't know all of the technical stuff when it concerned all the aspects of Digimon, but he knew most of the basics. Even if it could get admittedly confusing at times.

"But that shouldn't be possible." Ratchet argued, "Data and human flesh can't merge like that."

Jack crossed his arms, "But we did Ratchet. Multiple times."

"But that's not physically or even scientifically plausible or possible!" he protested.

Jack sighed. If this was what Ratchet thought about the mere idea of Bio-Merging, then Jack didn't even want to think about how the bot might react if he saw some of the Digimon he and Guilmon had fought. He might not be able to even take it without glitching out on all of them.

"Look, whether or not it's 'scientifically possible' doesn't really factor in," Jack tried to explain, "Fact is that I and Guilmon can bio-merge into Dukemon."

Everyone could see one of the medic's optics twitch, but he just crossed his arms and grumbled slightly. With him out of the way however, a far more important issue was finally addressed.

"If you were...fighting these creatures, is it the human population does not know about it?" Optimus asked.

"Mostly because the government kinda made sure no one knew." Jack explained, "They didn't really like us for a while, until the holes between the human and digital world started getting bigger..."

Jack trailed off and then slapped himself, "Idiot!"

"What?" the bots looked on in confusion. It sounded like their situations were pretty similar...except for the whole digital monsters thing.

"All of this ended back when the holes between the digital world started to shrink again back into non existence, but..." Jack and Guilmon exchanged worried looks,"If Guilmon's back... That means Digimon might start coming back through again."

Miko cocked her head to the side, "Well, if you've got Guilmon though, and the bots, shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Jack shook his head, "If it were just that, maybe."

He wished he and his old pal could just re-visit his old times again, but when could things ever be that easy?

"But not only could we have more Digimon showing up, but we also have the cons...who I'm pretty sure that me and Guilmon angered quite a bit..."

Especially Megatron. And that wasn't even the worst of it!

"And, if the holes are opening up again, there's probably another evil Digimon behind it." Jack sighed.

"Wait, what?"

Jack groaned, this was going to be pain to explain, "The openings between Earth and the Digital World aren't natural...at least, at the size they are now." he explained, "There are some natural openings, but for Digimon to actively come into our world without a human's assistance, there has to be something pulling the strings from behind… And if its anything like the last time, it's not for a nice visit..."

The others looked shocked and worried by this. They'd seen what Dukemon was capable of. If there were other powerful Digimon coming to Earth, and some of them evil… Oh that wasn't good at all.

"So there's an... Evil Digimon who helps them through?" Raf asked.

Jack nodded, "Basically. Last time it was a Digimon called Myotismon. Real nasty fellow, took a long time to knock him down."

"Think he came back?" Arcee asked.

"No," Jack shook his head, "Reduced him to data, guy's never coming back."

Well...thats good." Bulkhead admitted while the bots actually wished they could have seen such a thing. They had gotten a taste of what Jack could do against someone like Megatron, so what could that have been like?

Optimus knelt down, "Do you have any idea who this new enemy might be?" he asked.

Jack looked over at Guilmon and shrugged, "Not really. Myotismon was a bit...well, he acted somewhat like a movie villain slightly, so he eventually made himself quite clear. But whoever it is now? Until another Digimon mentions it or they reveal themselves...I have no idea."

"Well great," Bulkhead sighed, "As if the cons weren't bad enough."

"Sorry..." Jack scratched the back of his head, a bit sorry about that little detail, "At least they won't harass you like the Decepticons do..."

While he was happy to see Guilmon again, Jack wasn't going to deny that this would make the Bot's job a bit harder by a good margin. But still, the Digimon attacks from before were more random if anything...so maybe it wouldn't be as hard on the bots that much...

"Besides," Jack added, "Guilmon and I can handle it."

"Bio-merging?" Arcee asked, crossing her arms.

Jack scratched the back of his head again, "Yeah... See, thing is... Guilmon and I have only managed that five times. Today was the fifth..."

Arcee stared at him "...Thats it?"

Such a thing didn't help reassure the bots worries. In fact, it made their fears even worse then before...

"Well, yeah..." Jack admitted, "We didn't really need it that often...only when things got really intense. Heck, we didn't even have the ability to do so for quite a while. And I don't know if I'll be able to do it again anytime soon."

Dead silence covered the base. Bulkhead spoke up first, "You're kidding, right?"

Jack slumped sightly, "No...I'm afraid not. Whenever it actually happened, it required something very unique, not something I can just pull out every time we have something to fight."

"Heck," Jack threw his hands into the air, "I was only able to do it _this_ time because I wanted to help you guys... Otherwise, well... Dukemons out of commission." Jack sighed.

The reaction on the bot's faces were...about as optimistic as they could get, which wasn't much.

"So, we're screwed then?" Miko summed up.

"Oh no," Jack quickly said, "Guilmons other forms are pretty powerful too."

"I don't know," Bulkhead said, "That Dukemon guy barely held his own against Megatron. Not sure how anything lower than that can help that much..."

Guilmon frowned at that and gave Jack a look. It sounded like he was being underestimated. And if there was one thing Guilmon didn't like (besides missing meals), it was being underestimated. And Jack didn't like being mistaken for a pushover. Seems like he needed to show Bulkhead what they were made of.

"Care to give a demonstration Guilmon?" he asked.

The digimon grinned and nodded.

"Wait, what's going on?" Miko asked excitedly.

Jack smiled widely, something that made some of the others feel a bit worried about, "Well, me and Guilmon want to show you all what he can do on his own."

Miko squealed, "Oh! You're going to Digivolve him!"

For the young girl, this day was just getting better and better! Fire a real life Digimon and now she was going to see him Digivolve!? At this rate, Miko was quickly finding less ways to top this!

"Whoa, is that necessary?" Arcee asked.

"Totally!" Miko answered for Jack, "This is gonna be awesome!"

Despite the girl's excitement, the bots didn't look too excited either...in fact, after seeing Dukemon, they wanted to be a bit more cautious with this entire 'Digimon' thing.

Which is why both Bumblebee and Arcee sent the Wrecker a slight glare.

"What?" he asked, oblivious.

"You just had to say that...didn't you?" Arcee deadpanned.

"Say what!?"

"Seriously?"

"Shh!" Miko ordered, "Less talk, more digivolve!"

The bots quickly were 'shushed' into silence while Jack chuckled at the girl's excitement. Although honestly, he couldn't blame her. Not one bit. It had been a long while since he'd had Guilmon around, or even Digivolved him (Bio-merging didn't count)

So he looked to his partner, and...

"Perhaps it would be wise not to expend your energies like that." Optimus interrupted.

Whether this was to avoid freaking out his men and further or not, such a suggestion did make Jack think for a moment. Bio-Merging could take a lot out of his partner...

"Maybe..." he turned to his Digimon.

"Hey, how are you felling buddy? Doing alright?" Jack asked Guilmon.

Guilmon cocked his head to the side, "Actually, I am feeling pretty hungry."

Jack laughed, "Of course you are. Guess we'll wait to Digivolve you another time."

"Aw..." Miko whined, slumping forward, "...That's no fair..."

"Sorry Miko," Jack apologized while patting Guilmon on the head, "But next time we have a chance, I'll make sure you're there to see."

"Whatever..." She crossed her arms and plopped on the couch, "So not fair..."

Jack just shook his head while Guilmon tugged at his arm, "Hmm? What's wrong boy?"

It almost amused Jack how much Guilmon still acted like a animal sometimes. Maybe it was because of his design or habits or the fact that his mom kind of treated him like that for a while (in the good way). Still, at least he wasn't a complete puppy anymore...for the most part.

"Is there any food? I'm hungry!" he told him innocently. Guilmon was not a rude Digimon. Everything he said or did, even four years later, had an air of innocence to it. It made it REALLY hard to get mad at him for any reason and really, it brought a smile to Jack's face ninety-nine percent of the time.

"Well," Jack thought about it for the moment. They were at the bot's base...so, the answer was likely going to be no. So that really meant only one thing. "We'll have to bring you home, get you something to eat." he said.

Guilmons ears and tail sagged, "Oh...okay."

Miko squealed, her sore mood gone, "Oh that is so _cute_!"

Just looking at the little guy made Miko just want to run over to him and squeeze him like a pillow. Ignoring the girl's squealing, Jack shook his head before turning his attention back to his digital partner.

"Sorry boy, but hey. I'm sure mom will be happy to see you again." he admitted.

A smile lit up Guilmons face. Little known fact, after her initial shock, Guilmon and June got along quite well. Made Jack wonder how they'd react to seeing each other again. Odds where, they'd both be very happy.

He hoped.

**A/N: Wow, long chapter. Me and DarkDemon just kept adding and adding to this bit. Before I edited it all together, it was over 62 pages. Now it's half that. Anyway, did you guys like the return to Digital Resurgence? I hope so, as I just couldn't find my muse for the reboot of ATOA Book 3. College was kicking my ass and I had my birthday party yesterday so I've been busy. Sorry about the lack of updates, but hey, you got an extra birthday update from me! I hope you guys liked the chapter, and remember to review with critique, and direct any questions to my PM's. **

**Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Changes

_Darby Residence…_

"Guilmon!" June cried happily.

"Kind of glad I made him so durable..." Jack mused with a smile on his face.

The moment he and Guilmon stepped through the doors to his house, it only took his mother a split second to notice the red Digimon and embrace him in an almost spine snapping hug. Good thing that was just a tickle to the little guy. Guilmon just giggled and laughed while she hugged him. Jack smiled as he watched the two. It seemed that his mom had missed Guilmon quite a bit, if her hug was anything to judge by.

Eventually, June did set him down, a big smile on her face, "It's so good to see you again! How have you been? Doing alright for yourself?"

"Uh huh!" Guilmon nodded, "I'm doing fine!"

June scratched Guilmon right behind the ear (Favorite spot) and laughed, "That's so good to hear. I bet your hungry though."

Guilmon nodded so fast that it almost seemed like his head was going to fall off, something which both June and her son chuckled at. Never assume Guilmon wasn't hungry. Such an assumption was dangerous.

"Yeah, he kind of is." Jack chuckled, remembering how eager he was when the teen told him they were heading back.

June looked at her son and put her hands on her hips, "And why might that be?"

"Oh...um..." Jack muttered, having forgotten about that just a tad.

June immediately picked up on Jack's awkwardness, "Jack." her tone was stern, "What happened?"

"Well... Guilmon and I may have bio merged... And fought Megatron in hand to hand combat…" he braced himself for June's reactions.

At first, her jaw just sort of…hung open,"...what?"

Jack quickly put his hands up for his and Guilmon's defense, "Hey! We didn't...exactly plan for it! It just sort of happened! The bots were in trouble, Guilmon reappeared...and well, suddenly we were Dukemon!"

June didn't notice that little detail, instead focused on the little detail that nearly gave her a heart attack just thinking about it,"Jack, you fought Megatron!?"

"I fought MegaMyotismon too, remember?" he reminded her. Not like Dukemon hadn't fougth big bad's before.

June twitched...she didn't need to be reminded of that sight. Seeing her son fight that monster after they thought he had beaten that massive 'VenomMyotismon' form of his...to see that thing burst from the remains of his previous form, nearly killing them all with a sudden attack...

It still sent shivers down her spine…But with that said…

"Myotismon was a classic cartoon villain," June pointed out, "He was no Megatron."

Okay, Jack couldn't deny that. Even when he had transformed into MaloMyotismon, that Demon Lord Digimon was still the same ham he was back in his Ultimate form. Heck if anything, all his new power just inflated his ego even more.

He was powerful for sure, but cocky as well. But regardless, Megatron wasn't the most...calm individual either. In fact, he was a far more cunning and ruthless being then even Myotismon. Jack shuddered to imagine what would've happened if the two ever met. A fear he didn't share with his mom, since he was trying to calm her down, not freak her out.

"We still kicked his butt..." Jack muttered under his breath.

"Yep." Guilmon nodded as well, agreeing with Jack. In the Digimon's opinion, they had really kicked his butt. Heck, the face Megatron had made once he fell into their trap was quite the sight.

Still, June wasn't as amused, "Jack..."

"Well we did!" Jack protested, "He didn't even see us coming!"

"Jack!" June said sternly, "Please, just promise me you'll stay out of the bots conflict. They aren't like Digimon, it's not the same. Please. I don't want you to have a repeat of Cybertron..."

Jack and Guilmon looked at each other for a moment. Considering what was coming if Jack was right about the Digimon's reappearance and the fact that they hadn't...well, actively gotten involved on purpose, that didn't seem that hard.

In theory, at least.

"We'll try mom." Jack promised.

June smiled tearfully at that and gave her son a hug, "Thank you Jack."

"No hug for me?" Guilmon pouted, his ears folding down against his skull..

Both June and Jack stopped their hug for a moment and looked over at the Digimon. He knew just how to push June's buttons...

"Heh, come here you." June smiled, reaching over and pulling the Dino-Digimon into her hug as well.

"Yay!" the Digimon cheered as he got a big hug from her.

Jack just shook his head at the Digimon's silliness, "I forgot how ridiculous you are."

June released Guilmon, who looked a little confused,"Huh? What?"

That earned a laugh out of both Jack and June, both of them quite amused by how the Digimon was unaware of his own silliness. Jack was starting to wonder if he had written down a goofy trait in his personality back when he first created the little guy. Far as he knew, he hadn't, but that wasn't really important.

The two Darby's were just happy to have a member of their strange little family back. Guilmon had been gone for quite some time, but now he was back. And that warranted a small celebration. Something June was more than happy to do.

"Now, how about I bake you some of that bread you liked so much Guilmon?" she suggested.

Guilmon immediately perked up, "For me!?" The Digimon squealed.

More laughs from the two. It was going to be a fun night for everyone, they could just tell. Whether this was the same for the other members of Team Prime though, was anyone's guess…

_Autobot HQ…_

With the humans having returned home, the base was relatively peaceful given the utter chaos that Dukemon's arrival had initially brought. The fact that a being who could fight Megatron to a standstill was also their human ally Jack had astounded the Autobots.

Bulkhead saw this bit of information as a sort of insurance policy. With Guilmon and Jack, the wrecker hoped he wouldn't have to keep as much an eye on Miko as before. The rambunctious girl would be easier to control if the Digimon and his tamer watched her.

Bumblebee simply thought the idea of Digimon was cool. Jack had a new friend custom made for him, and that friend seemed very nice and caring.

But of the Autobots, Optimus and Arcee were the ones most conflicted about Guilmon. On the one hand, neither could deny the tactical and strategic uses the two could pose for the bots. But on the other hand, Jack was still just a boy, a teenager maybe, but a boy nonetheless. Putting him in harm's way for the Autobot cause didn't sit well with Optimus. And Arcee was just worried about Jack getting hurt in general.

A fact she decided to bring up with the Prime, "Optimus, what happens now?" she asked.

She didn't need to clarify what she meant, it was obvious. The Prime looked at the small blue femme with a neutral expression, "At the moment Arcee, we know too little to appropriately react to Jack's partner. It would be best for us to wait."

"Wait for what?"

Optimus looked at the ground bridge, "Wait to see what comes of this development, be it good or bad…"

Jack might be able to fight now after all. But the other humans couldn't. Optimus hoped they realized that and would attempt to keep from getting involved. He knew Miko might be a bit harder to control, but he was confident in one thing. Raf would definitely stay on the sidelines…

_Esquivel Household…_

Letting out a sigh, Raf closed the door to his room behind him and walked over to his bed. He stepped out of his shoes and dropped his backpack on the floor, and hopped up onto the mattress. Sitting cross legged, the boy set down his laptop and let out another sigh.

The day had just been wild. The Decepticon's attacking, the Digimon...well, everything involving them...it was just strange. It was so strange that it nearly made the boy forget about retrieving his laptop from the sight of the bot's . Raf was never one to abandon a piece of perfectly good hardware. It wasn't in him.

Still, the boy fished out said laptop and examined it, "Weird, not much damage all things considered."

He still couldn't believe Jack had _dropped_ it!With a sigh, Raf slumped back on his bed, taking his glasses off for a moment and rubbing his eye. He couldn't completely blame Jack for that. After all, the teen had...well, transformed into a Digimon for pete's sake before fighting both numerous Decepticons before beating down Megatron himself.

That might have caused him to drop the device, even if it made Raf a bit uneasy. He cautiously opened the thin laptop, "I just hope it's not... Aw man!" Raf cursed as he saw nothing but bits of data scrolling over the screen.

"Jack!"

"What did you do..." Raf mumbled under his breath before trying to fix his apparently busted computer.

None of the keys seemed to worked though, and the data continued to scroll across the screen. Raf groaned, "Ah...don't tell me its corrupted or anything..."

He tried typing in a few other commands just to be safe. Instead though, the laptop just fizzled for a moment, before returning to its buggy state.

"Scrap." the boy sighed.

He slumped back against his bed, his head thumping on the pillow, "Dang it Jack." he cursed. Raf didn't notice the oval shape forming out of the text.

Raf had looked off to his side in a attempt to look for the manual for his laptop, leaving the strange...thing to slowly push itself out of the computer's screen. It was like something was pushing its way through a squishy, organic surface. Something that didn't make much sense considering that the data was still flashing across the laptop's monitor.

"Ah man, mom is not going to like this..." Raf mumbled before looking back at his he saw it though, he promptly froze up.

"W-what?" he squeaked.

The strange object slowly pushed onwards through the screen, stretching the data over its large oval shape_'_. It lay on the keyboard, rocking back and forth. Its entire surface was lined in data, and it appeared apart of the screen was still attached. There was a suction 'POP!' and the oval came free.

It's data lines slowly faded until a bright white egg covered in green spots rocked back and forth on Raf's laptop. It was about the size of his head, maybe a little larger.

"An...an egg?" Raf muttered in complete and utter shock.

There was an egg, a inhumanly large egg sitting on his laptop. And as if it wasn't weird enough as it was already, the egg had actually come _out _of his computer. Even if he was a computer genius for a kid his age, Raf was just...stumped at what he was looking at. Even discovering the Autobots wasn't this strange!

Egg's did not come out of laptops! That didn't happen, _ever_! Then why did this… the realization hit Raf like a ton of bricks, "No way..."

There was no way that…there was no way that this egg was really a…But after what happened with Jack, could it really be a…?

Raf slowly edged himself toward both his laptop and the strange egg, both utterly confused and in awe at what was in front of himHe very slowly and carefully reached out to touch the egg. It didn't react at all, but it did rock gently on the keyboard back and forth. It also felt warm and... alive.

Raf rubbed his eyes, removing his glasses and cleaning them before putting them back on, "This is...this is real?"

It sure felt real. The egg was warm, and as Raf held it, he could feel as if something was moving inside the egg. Something that felt real…But it didn't make sense. Something like this, it didn't seem possible…

But then again, so many 'impossible' things were happening lately were real, Jack was a tamer, he'd _merged_ with his Digimon. It was all so weird, so was this any different? Was an egg that popped out of his laptop really the strangest thing to happen to the young boy?

Raf wasn't sure, and didn't really dwell on it, mostly because the egg shifted under his touch. It was almost as though whatever was in it was afraid or something. Don't ask how he knew, but Raf just had a feeling the creature inside was scared.

With wide eyes,, Raf gently held the over sized egg in his hands and pulled it close, "Its...it's okay." he told the egg, trying to ignore how odd the situation it was.

It was like the egg was listening to him and could hear how...well, odd he felt about the situation it seemed that hearing his voice calmed the creature inside the egg somewhat. He could still feel the trembling from within, but it had lessened.

"Okay..." Raf sighed in relief, still trying to calm down from the situation he was dealing with. He was able to come to terms with the Autobot situation, so he was sure that he could do the same with this.

"Maybe I'll talk with Jack about it tomorrow..." he murmured. The creature in the egg stirred again, almost bumping against the egg.

"It's okay..." he repeated, "I'm still here..."

He hoped Jack could help him with this situation. Because it was just getting strange…

_Following Day, Autobot HQ…_

Despite how insane the previous day had been, this day had been fairly normal for the most part. School had been normal without any interruptions or chaos, it had been fairly standard for the most part. They'd gone through school and had returned to the base. The bots had left shortly after to raid an Energon deposit and Ratchet was busy being…Ratchet

However, as they sat in the base, the trio of Jasper High had some new additions to their normal routine. Especially for Jack and Raf for the most had Guilmon waiting at base (Probably wanted to play) And Raf... well...

His change was the large egg hidden in his backpack, along with the sleek green digivice that had come with had been so surprised when it came to the egg that came out of his computer that Raf hadn't noticed the digivice till the next morning.

And when he had noticed it, Raf had nearly fallen out of his bed in surprise. But with the digivice in hand, he was sure of what he had now. A real life Digimon. Just like Jack. Or at least, he hoped so.

Unlike Jack and Miko, Raf knew far less about Digimon than either of them. But if there was one thing he did know...it was that anything could be inside his egg. Anything. It could be like Guilmon, or something so far away from anything like him that...well, Raf didn't want to even consider that.

'Let's just hope Jack might have an idea...' Raf thought to himself.

Upon arriving at base, courtesy of Bee, Arcee, and Bulkhead, the three moved up to the human area, while the bots were sent on a scouting mission. Raf gently set his backpack down and began debating whether or not he should bring up the egg.

He wasn't sure how they were going to react to such a thing. Sure, he had a feeling Jack would know at least something...but after his story, Jack's situation was already different from his own. Jack merely had his Digimon...appear out of his digivice. He didn't actually get a physical had been created by him, a Digi-nut (Raf filed that away for later use as blackmail) and was very personal to him.

Raf? The egg had literally been dropped into his lap. But as Raf debated it, his bag shifted slightly, as if the egg were urging him on, telling him to stop being so as...the egg was right (not sure how exactly, Raf just did), the teen took a deep breath and picked up his bag.

After looking over toward Jack, who was sitting nearby with Guilmon (who was merely being entertained by the sight of Miko playing a video game), Raf decided that he had been waiting for long enough.

"Hey, Jack?"

Jack and the girl looked over at him, "What's up Raf?" he asked.

Raf shifted nervously for a moment, "I... well something weird happened on my laptop last night."

Miko blinked for a moment but remained silent. But Jack, he was a bit more surprised with what the teen had said.

"What do you mean?" he asked, having a feeling bubbling up inside him.

Raf sighed and lifted his backpack up, zipping it open, "Last night, _this_ came out of my laptop," he pulled the egg out. Lifting the impossibly large and colorful egg up high enough for both Miko, Jack, and Guilmon to see, the trio quickly went dead silent for a second or two.

"No way..." Miko muttered, dropping her controller in shock.

First yesterday and now...Raf had a...

"You got one too!?" she yelled.

Raf shrugged nervously, "Well...yeah, I guess so. Last night after I tried to restart my computer, the screen was covering in some strange data...and well, it just sort of popped out."

"Just... popped out?" Jack asked, more confused than anything.

Raf nodded in confirmation and Jack frowned. Guilmon looked between the two boys quizzically, before imitating the thoughtful expression on Jack's face. Jack wasn't sure why Raf had gotten an egg. He had created Guilmon and Guilmon had just emerged into the real world. No egg, so...

Miko suddenly hopped to her feet, interrupting Jack's train of thought, "So?" she pulled her backpack up from between her legs and produced her own pink spotted digi-egg, "This came out of my Smart-TV this morning!"

Now it was Jack's turn to look utterly confused at what was going on around him. He had created his Digimon out of a doodle of his, but these two just got a digi-egg out of random?!

"I don't..." he muttered in shock. But despite his confusion, Miko just seemed even more exited then before.

"Isn't this awesome!?" she squealed, "I mean, all three of us, Tamers! How cool is that!?"

"Miko," Jack raised his hands in a calming gesture, "Calm down. We need to think about-"

"Think? Think about what?" she demanded, "We've got digi-eggs, we're going to have Digimon!'

"Yes, but why!?" Raf demanded. That question had been bugging him all day through class.

"Well, we..." Miko started to reply but she had to stop herself. Despite the excitement, Miko didn't have a real answer to that question.

Raf looked down at his egg in confusion, "I thought...it might have happened because of what happened to my computer..."

Despite hearing that, Jack and Guilmon shared another look for a moment. That might have explained it if Raf was the only other person to get a digi-egg. But with Miko getting one too...then that idea had gone right out the window.

"I... really have no idea why." Jack admitted, "This never happened to me."

"Yeah, we heard." Miko noted, resting her chin on her digi-egg.

"You and Guilmon got a more straight forward meeting, while Miko and I got these." Raf said, lifting up his egg to prove his point. They way they had gotten their Digimon were nearly completely different compared to how Jack and Guilmon met.

Miko looked at Jack excitedly, "So...when do they hatch?" she asked.

"You just heard that Guilmon and I met completely differently." Jack sighed, "Why are you asking me?"

Jack might have known a great deal about Digimon, but he didn't know everything about them. Such a limitation was especially apparent when it came to when a individual Digimon was going to hatch from its digi-egg. For all he knew, they would only hatch when the Digimon inside felt it was time or something.

"Well, do you know anything that could help?" Miko asked eagerly, "I want to meet whoever is inside here!"

"Well, I'd suggest not using them as chin rests." Jack started, referring to Miko's position.

The girl immediately straightened up, "Oh..."

Sighing, Jack sat upward and looked at the strange eggs in thought. He then looked at Guilmon, who still wore that imitation thinking gaze.

"Do you have any ideas, Guilmon?" he asked his partner.

He was a Digimon himself. Maybe he would know at least something even if he had gone through this stage differently.

"Uh uh." Guilmon shook his head.

"I'm just as confused as you are." he admitted.

Jack slumped down, "Well, at least you're honest."

"So, we've got nothing?" Raf summed up their situation quite easily.

And despite how much Jack wished it was otherwise, that was the truth for the most part. He had no idea what to do for the two.

"Sorry guys." Jack slumped backwards, "But I got nothing."

"I thought you were supposed to be a Digimon expert!" Miko said.

Jack frowned, "I never said that. My only experience raising Digimon was with Guilmon, and that was a little more unique than this."

After all, coming from a twelve year olds doodle after you're card reader is transformed into a digivice isn't the normal type of way to raise a Digimon. Although, what was normal about all of this?

"I have no idea what to do about a real digi-egg." Jack shrugged, "Guilmon's was just in the digivice until he hatched, that's all."

"And I don't really remember much of that." Guilmon admitted, "Just being really hungry."

Jack sighed and patted Guilmon's head with a smile, "Of course buddy."

Same old Guilmon. Always thinking about his stomach fist. He probably didn't even remember the fact that he had fried a rat or two with a fireball while he was standing right in front of Jack when they first met. Not that Jack held that against him at all. Just that the Digimon was always on about his stomach.

Moving on though, Miko examined her egg again, "I wonder what Digimon it'll be..."

Miko's egg in particular was a light pink color. Several hearts dotted its curved surface, several shades darker then the base color. It fit the girl, given her love of purple, pink, and black.

"I'm not sure really..." Jack sighed, "Could be anything..."

"That doesn't answer my question Jack." Miko deadpanned.

The teen shot her a glare, "Well, how would I know? I can't see through egg you know."

Suddenly, Raf's egg jolted in his hands. He stared at it wide eyed while Miko and Jack argued. Guilmon watched the egg with interest, and Raf called the others, "Guys,"

"But you've fought other Digimon," Miko reminded him, "You must have some idea."

"Champions, Ultimate's, even a few Mega's." Jack counted on his fingers and then looked back at her, "But whatever hatches out of that egg won't be anything like that."

"Guys!" Raf interrupted both teens before their argument could escalate.

"What!?" the two accidentally snapped.

He gestured at the egg in his hands,"I...I think its hatching..." Raf murmured, and felt the egg jolt against his hands. It hadn't ever moved like this before...

Since he got the egg, the most it had moved was a single hop or something. But now? It felt like something was actively pushing against the egg's shell, like it was trying escape. And that, was something that Guilmon knew something about. Though how it would work out this time, he had no idea..

Miko stared in amazement, "No way."

Then she quickly shifted into a pout, "How come his hatches first?"

"Shh." Jack ordered, looking at the egg. It jolted again this time a long crack running down its edges, tracing along the green splotches that dotted the eggshell.

"Here we go..."

Everyone stared at the egg intently, waiting for the shell to fall away. After a few nail bitingly tense seconds, the cracks that trailed the through the center of the shell went full circle and connected back from where it started.

All three teens (and Guilmon) went silent as they heard a thin cracking nose slowly emit from the egg before something started to push the two halves of the eggs apart. And with one more sudden crack, the two halves of the egg were slowly pushed apart, revealing a pair of little black eyes hiding inside the remains of the egg.

"Oh...my...god..." Miko started.

The remaining shell finally split open to reveal a tiny digimon inside. It was a small round little creature, with a single horn on its head, and a small tail sticking out behind it. It had big black curious eyes, light green skin, and was small enough to fit in the palm of Raf's hand.

Miko squealed, "That is... _ADORABLE_!"

With Raf removing the tiny bits of shell that remained, the little Digimon fidgeted slightly at the sound of Miko's voice. It apparently didn't like the sudden noise, especially since it had just came out of its shell seconds before. Wincing slightly, Miko quickly quieted down her squealing and gave the little Digimon some breathing room.

"So cute..." she whispered more calmly (for her at least) while Jack, Guilmon, and Raf just stareded on at the new arrival.

"What is it?" Raf asked either one of the teens. He knew it was a Digimon, but all Digimon had certain names and such, like Guilmon.

Jack pulled out his Digivice and pointed it at the infant Digimon. A small holographic screen spiraled to life in his hands, "Zerimon, Baby level Digimon. It's only attack is Acid Bubbles."

"Whoa," Miko said, "Tough baby."

Nodding, Jack and the others returned their attention to his digivice, "Normally born in a pair with a Cocomon, Zerimon is known to be extremely energetic slime Digimon. It also has quite a firm complexion despite most slime Digimon having the opposite form."

Raf blinked, "Wow..."

"Real interesting Digimon you've got there," Miko noted. There was a faint jealous tone in her voice.

Jack put his Digivice away, "This is just the baby form. He'll digivolve into a more evolved form in a day or two."

"How do you know?" Raf asked. The tiny Zerimon shifted in his hand and looked at his new partner.

"Digimon lore..." Jack rubbed the back of his head embarrassed, "I was really into it when I was younger."

"Really?" Miko giggled, "We never would have guessed..."

Jack gave the girl an unamused look and grumbled, "Yeah, yeah..."

But while the two teens bickered slightly for a moment or two, Raf examined the little Digimon in his hands with a small smile on his face.

"Hey there, little guy." he greeted the tiny Zerimon, something the Digimon responded with a small hop in his hands while returning the same smile he had given it.

Raf let out a small laugh, "Guess I'm your new partner." he realized.

The little Digimon let out a happy bark like sound. He seemed to like the idea of being Raf's partner. Raf felt a wide smile spread over his face, and he gently stroked the slim Digimon's head, noting how smooth and almost rubbery he felt.

"Can't wait till you meet Bumblebee," Raf added. The scout would be incredibly impressed. The look on the Scout's face, Raf couldn't wait to see it.

And while Zerimon didn't really know who Bumblebee was (or really anyone else around it), the little Digimon let out another bark and hopped up and down while in Raf's hand, obviously excited.

"Heh, energetic is right." Raf noted.

The Digimon seemed full of it, even when compared to a Digimon like Guilmon. Speaking of, the dragon Digimon took a few steps closer examining the baby Digimon. Zerimon stared back at Guilmon, and the two Digimon were motionless. Raf looked at Guilmon worriedly. Guilmon seemed quite friendly for what Raf had seen, but when it came other Digimon, he had no idea what to suspect.

He was worried that Guilmon might attack Zerimon, or that his new partner might flip out. But much to his relief, the stalemate eventually ended when Zerimon actually leaped off of Raf's hands and landed on Guilmon's head. The red reptile plopped down upon this happening, but he didn't react violently to him. In fact, he responded quite the oppositely.

He practically giggled and stared up cross eyed at the happy little Digimon that had decided to make his head a new home. Zerimon hopped on Guilmons head, a small little smile on the slime Digimon's face.

"Hello!" Guilmon greeted happily.

Zerimon barked in response as he hopped in place. Raf let out a sigh of relief upon seeing this while Jack and Miko finally stopped trading comments.

"Oh man..." the teenage girl muttered before pulling out her phone, "That's just too cute too miss..."

Snapping a few pictures, the trio continued to watch as the two Digimon continued to respond quite kindly to each other, even if one was a fresh level Digimon and the other was a Rookie.

"Making friends Guilmon?" Jack asked, laughing as the Rookie tilted his head back, and Zerimon started bouncing on his nose.

"Uh huh!" Guilmon said happily.

"Well, I'm happy to see you're getting along with Zerimon buddy." Jack smiled.

Considering that most Digimon the two had met were less than the friendly types, it was nice to see Guilmon having a chance to make friends with another Digimon, especially Raf's. Jack had always felt a little guilty for never being able to give Guilmon a friend outside of himself and his mother. Now it seemed the big guy finally had one in the shape of Zerimon.

'Now we just have to see if Miko's is as much of a trouble maker as she is...' Jack inwardly mused. Jack didn't know how Ratchet may survive if Miko's new partner was as wild as she was. Heck, none of them might survive with a second Miko running around.

'Maybe it'll be a mute,' He thought. After all, he'd met a few silent Digimon before. It wasn't too much to hope for.

Zerimon suddenly slid off Guilmon's nose and landed on his belly. He bounced off on accident and landed on the hard concrete floor with a thud.

Everyone's reaction was instant

"Zerimon!" Raf cried, instantly rushing to the little Digimon's aid.

Guilmon was worried as well (and since it was partly his fault for what happened) and crouched down to see if the little Digimon was okay. Raf scooped up the little Digimon in his hands. The others crowded around to see if he was okay. The Digimon didn't move.

"Zerimon?" Raf whimpered.

Suddenly, the Digimon popped up in his hands, a happy smile on his face. He barked happily at Raf. Blinking for a brief moment, Raf let out a small sigh of relief and brought the little critter up close to his face, "Please try and be a bit more careful, okay?"

Blinking innocently, the little Digimon took a few seconds to understand what Raf had asked. But once he did, the little Digimon gave his partner a resounding nod.

"Good." Raf calmly whispered.

Still, the others were a bit more surprised with how okay the little Digimon was...

At least until Jack remembered something rather obvious, "Oh yeah, he's a slime Digimon..."

"So?" Miko asked.

"He has no bone structure." Jack explained, "So a little fall like that meant nothing to him."

"Ooooh..." Both Miko and Guilmon nodded in understanding.

"So...he's basically a ball of goo?" Miko asked in the most non-insulting way possible.

"Basically," Jack nodded.

Raf looked back down at Zerimon, who was staring at him curiously, "Doesn't seem like a ball of goo to me."

The little Digimon let out another bark, making Raf believe that he was agreeing with his partner. Raf smiled and patted his head.

"He seems likes to think that too." Jack chuckled.

Miko crossed her arms and pouted, "This is so not fair. Why does Raf get his Digimon first?" she whined.

Jack rolled his eyes at the girl, "Calm down Miko, yours will probably digivolve first if you're lucky."

The girl pouted for a second and looked at her egg, "Maybe..." she mused.

She wasn't hiding it even slightly. She was just a bit jealous. First Jack and now Raf? She didn't like being last on the list. Miko played to win, and she hated, _hated _being last.

"It'll hatch eventually," Jack repeated, "Just be patient."

The girl didn't reply, which earned a sigh from Raf, "Jack..."

"Hm...?"

"You do know who you're talking to, right?" Raf asked with Zerimon barking with him.

Jack blinked once before sighing and slumping his shoulders, "Guy can dream, right?"

"Uh huh." Guilmon nodded, resting his leg on Jack's leg in the meanwhile. Jack scratched him behind the ear, which prompted the Digimon's tail to start wagging like a dogs.

"I'm sitting here, you know?" Miko said.

"We know." Raf, Jack, Guilmon, and even Zerimon (through his barks) all replied.

Miko wilted, "You guys are jerks, you know that?"

"Miko, can you seriously say that you're that patience?" Raf asked while Zerimon barked in session.

She huffed and crossed her arms for a minute, before slumping, "Touche..." Miko muttered.

"Nice one," Jack praised.

The two boys exchanged high fives while Miko sighed. She still wanted to see her egg hatch… It felt just a bit unfair, she was the last one of them. First Jack, then Raf, and now she was waiting for her egg to hatch. But really, Miko couldn't do much besides waiting…and god, she hated waiting.

She was always an action girl. Always moving always doing things. And sitting here waiting was, well it went against her instincts. She wanted to do something to make the process to go by faster, just a bit at least. Something, anything to make things go by just a bit faster.

But seeing as she was dealing with an egg, with a living creature inside it, Miko didn't know what she could do. At least, without hurting the creature inside. She was impatient, not cruel.

She sighed again, "Why is this taking so long!?"

Jack and Raf looked at each other with tired expressions. The girl was just incorrigible sometimes.

"This is going to be a long day, isn't it?" Jack sighed.

"Maybe..." Raf muttered, "...but maybe it'll get better when the others get back."

"Maybe..." Jack muttered. One could always hope.

_Later That Day…_

Unfortunately for the duo and their digimon partners, time was not on their side. The day moved insanely slow from that point on, even with the kid's attempts to distract Miko in her downer state. But since her egg didn't even move slightly, nothing worked.

She just stared at it sadly, letting out the occasional sad moan. It was fairly depressing to see all things considered. Miko normally had the most energy of the group, but seeing her depressed like that was just sad. But the mood suddenly changed when the bots finally returned to base.

Just an hour or two later, Ratchet emerged from the bowels of the base (none of the kids knew what he was doing or...wanted to know) and was quickly contacted by one of the others. The kids didn't have much time to react at that point (nor did Raf have a chance to show his new partner to the medic), as Ratchet quickly brushed nearly everything aside before activating the ground bridge for the rest of the team to return.

The bots strolled back in, a few of them carrying a few arms full of raw Energon. It seemed like they had a good haul, all things considered. "Looks like you guys did alright for yourselves." Jack noted with both him and Guilmon looking over from behind the couch.

Bulkhead let out a loud chuckle, "Oh yeah. Stumbled upon a small pit full of Energon, and no signs of the Cons!" quite a good haul indeed. It seemed like the cons were still licking their wounds after the beat down Dukemon gave them.

"So," Arcee looked over at the kids after putting down some of the Energon, "Anything happen here?"

Guilmon, Jack, Raf, and Miko all exchanged looks, "You could say something like that..."

Arcee raised an optic ridge, "Oh? Like what?"

The children and Digimon looked at each other for a moment...oh, this was going to be awkward...

"Well..." Jack started, "You see..."

Raf walked forward and held his hands open. Zerimon hopped in the middle of his hands, looking around at the Autobots with infantile curiosity. t even let out a little bark, a sort of...hello to the Cybertronians. Which of course, prompted the most expected reaction the teens had suspected from the Autobots.

"...What?"

Jack couldn't help but grin, "Raf's a Tamer now," he explained, and gestured at the little green Digimon, "And this is his partner, Zerimon."

The little Digimon let out a little bark, just confirming that he was real and looking up at the bots. Bulkhead's jaw was on the floor, Arcee was stunned, and Bee was wide eyed. Optimus remained passive as always, though he had raised one optic ridge. And Ratchet was, well…Ratchet.

"He has one too...?" Ratchet grumbled, looking away from his computer...

"Actually he has one, and Miko's going to have one." Jack corrected. Stunned silence followed.

"...Still waiting for mine though." Miko mumbled.

Still, the girl's words were mostly ignored. The bots were just too shocked to notice it. The only sound echoing though the base was the sound of Zerimon barking. Surprisingly, Bee actually 'spoke' first, letting out a few confused beeps and whirrs while scratching his helm with a servo.

Raf just shrugged, "I really don't know Bee. Just sorta... happened."

"Just...happened?" Bulkhead repeated dumbly.

Raf nodded, "Yeah, the egg I got came out of my computer last night...and Miko's came out of her TV without any warning. And then it hatched, and well..." Raf held up Zerimon, who continued to bark happily.

"Pretty tiny." Bulkhead noted.

Raf looked at his little partner while Jack shook his head, "Well, he's just a baby. Were you as big as you are now when you were a toddler?"

Bulkhead scratched his helm, "What's a toddler?"

Jack sighed, "Point is, Zerimon is only the most basic form of Raf's Digimon. When he gets older, he'll get bigger."

"Oh."

With the bot understanding that, Bumblebee went ahead and approached the strange kids and their strange friends. He stopped right in front of the railing and looked a bit closer at the little Digimon in Raf's hands. Zerimon in returned, looked up at the scout's face and playfully barked a few times at him.

"Well, at least he's not scared of him," Jack murmured. Given how much larger Bee was than the little Digimon, it wouldn't have surprised him if Bee terrified the little guy. Luckily that didn't seem to be the case.

In fact, the little Digimon seemed to like Bumblebee despite their differences in size. Maybe it was something he got from Raf or something. Seemed like a perfect match for the moment considering that having two partners that didn't like each other might have been quite hard for Raf.

But of course, they would be certain of it later, when Zerimon digivolved into something a bit more mature. At the moment he was just a baby really, so one could assume he liked anyone. They'd see what happened when he digivolved.

Bee cocked his head to the side while Zerimon barked at him happily, it's little tail almost wagging back and forth excitedly. He really found Bee to be the most enthralling thing so far.

Miko perked up and gushed, "Oh, that is so adorable!"

"Yeah..." Jack chuckled, "I think we can all agree with that..."

Bumblebee seemed to as well. He even reached over to touch the soft little Digimon, and when the bot's oversized finger got close, Zerimon jumped out of Raf's hands again and onto the bot's metallic finger. Raf yelped and reached out to grab him, but Bee managed to catch the little guy and gave Raf an apologetic look. The boy just smiled when he saw the two were getting along so well.

"Wow, feisty little guy isn't he?" Bulkhead commented.

Arcee nodded, "We sure he's not Miko's Digimon?" she asked.

"Hey!"

"Nah," Jack waved a dismissive hand, "not annoying enough."

"Hey!" Miko called out again, "Right hear you know!"

"We know."

Ratchet scoffed slightly, "That noise is a tad irritating though..."

Jack chuckled and leaned over toward Raf, "Think we should tell him about your buddy's little spitting ability?"

"Nah, let him find out on his own." Raf replied with a grin.

"Oh, you're evil Raf."

Raf chuckled. Just because he was the youngest of the trio didn't mean he couldn't have his diabolical moments as well. Miko might have been known for her antics, but Raf could have his moments too.

At the moment though, he was content with seeing Zerimon and Bee interact. The scout was holding the little Digimon in his palm, moving exceptionally slow. It was pretty adorable.

"Here's a question," Miko piped up, "How're you going to explain Zerimon?"

Raf opened his mouth to respond, but that caused a rather large issue to suddenly make itself present. With Jack, his family already knew about Guilmon, so that was a non-issue.

"Same question works for you too Miko." Jack added in. How were either of them going to explain their Digimon to their folks?

"Well..." Raf looked at Zerimon, "He's a lot smaller than Guilmon, I could hide him."

"And mine hasn't even hatched yet." Miko sighed, "So I'm good."

Jack nodded, actually thinking about what would come next for the little Digimon, "And their next form shouldn't be all that much bigger..." he mused, thinking about their in-training forms. Those forms weren't _that_ much bigger than the baby forms, so it shouldn't be that much of an issue.

Well, here's hoping." Raf admitted.

Maybe they'd get lucky and their parents wouldn't find out.

_Later that Night, Nakadai Host Parents House…_

After the bots had returned from their scouting mission, the rest of the day had gone by fairly normal. B ee took the chance to get to know Zerimon along with Raf. Jack and Guilmon spent some time together while Arcee watched the duo in amusement.

But even after the trio had went home, Miko was still fairly down in the dumps. The reason? Her Digimon still hadn't hatched from her egg. Once she'd returned home, she'd set her egg on her bed and sat across from it cross legged.

Her room was fairly nice, a simple cream color pant job with a queen sized bed dead center in the room. There was a small TV across from her bed, and on the right hand side of the room was a desk with a computer on it. And about three dozen various sketches of the bots, bikes, cars, and in recent memory, Digimon.

Miko herself was dressed in purple pajama bottoms and a pink tank top, and nearly glared at the egg.

"Come on, why won't you hatch?" she pleaded. She fingered the pink Digivice in her hand, "I mean, it's been almost a full day since you showed up."

Raf's had hatched but why hadn't hers? Was she doing something wrong? Was the egg just taking longer than normal or something? Nothing about this made sense to Miko, and she was growing quite impatient. And when Miko got impatient…bad things happened.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked in a frustrated sigh.

"I mean, I've kept you safe, haven't rested on you anymore..." she grabbed at her hair, "Do I need to sit on you like a chicken or something?"

The egg remained silent.

"Gragh! Please, please hatch!" Miko practically begged. The egg remained silent despite her begging, much to Miko's grief.

"Ugh..." she groaned, flopping back onto her bed. Was this punishment or something? For her pranks or something.

"...Not fair." she grumbled, grabbing one of her pillows and covering her face with it.

A mistake really. Because Miko looked at the egg, she'd have seen the hairline cracks covering it. Unlike Raf's egg, which shattered rather noisily, Miko's egg just... fell apart on itself, revealing a tiny little Digimon. It was slightly larger than Zerimon, with a black shiny skin, and a small green leaf atop his head.

The tiny newborn Digimon shook off the remains of its egg and looked around, not even making a single noise. The first thing it did notice though was Miko, who was still hiding under her pillow. She was just so frustrated that she had started to ignore everything around her.

A shame, for if she was still aware of her surroundings, the girl might have noticed the freshly hatched Digimon slowly bouncing over to her. It looked at her cautiously, trying to get a sense of the human in front of it. Then realizing who she was, smiled happily, its big yellow eyes sparkling.

In a single motion, it hopped onto Miko's stomach, where it gently bounced in place. For a brief moment or two, it looked as if Miko hadn't noticed the little creature sitting on her stomach. Her mind was else ware for a moment or two, leaving her to completely ignore the sudden weight on her torso. But eventually, Miko let out a sigh and lifted the pillow off her head before sitting up.

"Scrap this is bor-" she began to say only to stop in her tracks once she looked up.

The itty bitty Digimon stared up at its human partner. Miko stared back. Neither one did anything at first. It was like a silent staring contest, something that seemed oddly strange for the hyperactive girl. The little digimon even leaned to the side during this, its little leaf following it like it was crocking its neck.

"Oh...my...god..." Miko whispered, her eyes being the size of dinner plates.

The Digimon blinked, no saying a word.

"You...are...adorable!" With a giant smile suddenly bursting to life on the girl's face, Miko shot upward and nearly tossed the Digimon into the air.

Luckily though, Miko was there to catch the little Digimon before lifting it up to her face. The little Digimon smiled widely and nuzzled against Miko's face.

"Finally!" She cheered. The Digimon in her hands let out the smallest of squeaks.

"I can't wait for you to meet the others..." Miko blinked.

"Oh scrap! I don't even know your name yet!" she fumbled around for her digivice with one hand while her little Digimon watched her curiously.

"Now where is..." Miko grumbled for a second or two, "Ah! Here it is!"

Pulling out her digivice in victory, Miko smiled brightly before pointing it toward her Digimon and repeated the same thing Jack had done earlier that day.

An image appeared of the little Digimon, with a name floating underneath it "A Seed Digimon whose body surface is covered in transparent tissue. Its real body can be confirmed to be within the transparent skin. Nyokimon has a personality that is extremely gentle, so it has a timid face. Its offensive ability is nonexistent, so it flings the popping seeds of its "Seed Cracker", then while the opponent is surprised, it quickly flees."

Miko looked up from her Digivice at the tiny little Digimon, "Sounds like I've got a little trickster. You and I are going to get along great!"

Nyokimon let out a small laugh, seemingly agreeing with Miko. Miko chuckled as well, hugging the fresh Digimon while sitting back onto her bed.

"Oh, this was sooo worth the wait...Oh," she said suddenly, "I'm Miko by the way. Can you say Miko?"

Nyokimon just cocked her head to the side, "Guess not."

That shouldn't have surprised Miko all that much.

After all, Raf's little Digimon hadn't been able to talk either. Heck, she was just lucky that Nyokimon wasn't barking like a dog. Trying to explain why there was a dog barking in her room to her host parents wouldn't be fun. She just wished Nyokimon could talk.

"Oh well," Miko shrugged. She could deal with it for the time. Nyokimon would learn to talk. In the meantime though, she'd serve as a nice little companion for the night.

Miko looked at her clock on the desk, "11? Jeez."

Time really had flown while the girl had been waiting for her Digimon's egg to hatch. And now that it had...well, it was stupidly late.

"Darn..." she groaned, "Stupid school..."

Never before would the girl hated having to school the next day.

"Oh well." she sighed, "Guess we'll get to play some tomorrow, okay?"

Nyokimon blinked for a moment or two before nodding happily, understanding what she meant for the most part.

"Cool!" Miko smiled before laying the little digimon back onto the bed, "Tomorrow is going to be so sweet!" she squealed before preparing herself for bed.

She quickly slipped under the covers (Lights shut off) and rested her head on the pillow. Nyokimon hopped over and rested next to Miko. Her big yellow eyes glowed in the darkness of the room, a comforting glow for Miko.

The young girl smiled, "Night Nyokimon."

The little seed Digimon yawned in response, it's big yellow eyes slowly shutting. As the little Digimon slowly drifted off to sleep, Miko smiled as she felt the tiny little Digimon gently nuzzle up to the girl's side. Even after the excruciating day she had, Miko was more than happy with how it ended.

'So...worth it..." Miko smiled, drifting off to sleep as well.

**A/N: Someone alert the police, because I updated two days in a row. What is the world coming to? Well actually, my co-author and I really got ahead of ourselves and into the story. Expect more frequent updates. And speaking of, know what to expect tomorrow? Two things. A digital battle, and a Digivolution. Guesses? Leave them in the reviews, or PM me. I hope you guys enjoyed the fluffy chapter.**

**Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Digivolution

_Esquivel Residence…_

Raf woke up at his house, eyes snapping open as he realized something that terrified him. Zerimon was gone! The little slime Digimon wasn't sleeping on the pillow next to him, or on the covers!

Raf shot straight up and frantically searched for his little partner, "Zerimon? Zerimon?"

He didn't see the Digimon anywhere! Fearing the worse, Raf threw off the covers and practically leaped off his bed. He peaked under the mattress with wide eyes. Nothing. The little Digimon had vanished!

Raf shot back up, "Zerimon, where are you!?"

"I'm up here silly," a small voice said. Raf looked up to see Zerimon above him on the bed, smiling at him. Somehow Raf had missed the little guy, though seeing him now, Raf realized he looked different.

His skin had grown a darker shade of green, and he'd grown larger, about six inches tall now. That horn still adorned his head, along with two smaller ones that formed a triangle on his forehead. His eyes were big and black still, with a tiny little mouth under them, and two small dog like ears flopping around on his head. The tail under his head was gone, instead replaced by a phantom like body that the little Digimon hopped up and down on excitedly.

Raf stared wide eyed at the little guy, "Zerimon?"

The Digimon giggled "Yes...and no…I'm Gummymon now!"

Frozen there for a moment or two, it took Raf a few seconds to realize what had happened. Although, seeing as Zerimon/Gummymon was talking now along with its change should have been more than obvious enough.

"You digivolved!" Raf cried.

"Yep!" the now in-training Digimon laughed.

After hopping down to Raf's level, Gummymon scooted himself closer to Raf and smiled brightly.

"It happened last night! I was afraid that I woke you up, but you just rolled over and went back to sleep!" the Digimon's tiny voice laughed.

Raf laughed with him, "This is so cool. What's it like? To Digivolve?"

Gummymon gave the closest to a shrug he could with no arms, "Just feels like... Well... I don't know." he admitted.

"Hard to describe?" Raf asked. He wouldn't be that great at describing what it was like to get older, so it made sense Gummymon wouldn't be sure.

The green Digimon nodded, "Yep. It's just...moving forward or...well..."

The little Digimon fumbled from that point on, even sticking its little tongue out while it thought for the right words to say. It took nearly all of Raf's self control not to just laugh out loud at the little Digimon's antics. He was just too darn adorable!

Gummymon strained his young mind to come up with an appropriate analogy,"I guess it's like being under a... what was that thing you put me under yesterday?"

"Running water?" Raf answered. Zerimon had gotten into a rather dusty mess involving the vacuum cleaner and so Raf had been forced to give him a bath, much to his irritation. Who knew something so small could make such a mess?

"Yeah, like that. Running water. And when it you come out, it's like being a whole new Digimon!" Gummymon smiled, hopping in place for a moment or two.

Raf smiled at that. It appeared that while Gummymon was a more mature form, he still had all the energy that his prior form had. And it was a good thing too. Raf was glad the little guy hadn't changed all that much. Although, it would take Raf a little while to get used to having him actually talking instead of barking.

But still, "That's pretty awesome Gummymon," Raf admitted.

The Digimon bounced excitedly, "So when do we meet up with the other guys? I wanna show off my new form!"

Raf's smile faded a little, "Well, I've got school today, so I'm not sure if I could sneak you in..."

"Aw, really?" Gummymon whined slightly, "Can't I come with? I'll be good and quiet! I swear!"

Despite how energetic the little Digimon was, Raf wasn't sure. Gummymon would have to sit around for most of the day in silence, keeping absolutely still. It would be quite a day for the little critter, something Raf wasn't too sure about. He didn't want the little guy to get bored or hurt at school.

He ran a hand through the mop on his head that acted as hair. Without his mountain of hair gel holding it up, his hair was pretty chaotic,"I don't know, you'd have to either hide in my backpack or be really still. Do you think you could do that?"

Gummymon nodded eagerly, "Yeah, yeah, of course I can! You say the word and POOF!"

The little Digimon went stock still like a statue, not a hint of movement on him, "Stiff like a statue..." Gummymon mumbled through its closed mouth.

Raf raised a brow, "Oh really? A statue?"

Leaning forward, Raf poked the little Digimon in the torso. His finger squished into the creature's little body, earning a small laugh from the Digimon.

"Don't do that!" he giggled.

"What? This?" Raf poked him again.

Gummymon collapsed into giggles, falling on his back.

"Stop that!" the little Digimon giggled again.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Raf giggled too, "I'm just testing out this 'statue' you claim to be."

"Okay, well I don't think I'll be poked all day!" Gummymon laughed.

"Oh you never know," Raf replied innocently, "School can surprise you."

But if Gummymon was _anything_, he was persistent. He wanted to tag along with Raf, even if the teen persisted in tickling the little guy half to death.

The little Digimon hopped back up, "I can handle anything they dish out!"

Now despite how worrisome of a situation this might result in, Raf couldn't help but smile at the little Digimon in front of him.

He was _that_ persistent, and that made Raf just chuckle, "Alright Mr. Tough-guy..." he scooped him up in his hands, "I guess I can bring you along."

Gummymon cheered, "Yay!" he hopped into the air, doing a standing variant of the worm.

"But!" Raf added.

The Digimon froze.

"You need to stay hidden at all costs okay?" Raf warned him, "I know a few people who might do something bad to you if they find you, alright?"

Raf didn't want to think about what might happen if Vince got a hold of Gummymon. Especially after hearing what he'd done to Jack when he'd had a card game. He was terrified to see what he'd do if he thought Gummymon was a stuffed animal.

Gummymon seemed to understand that and gave a stern nod, "Alright, got it."

Raf smiled and stood up with Gummymon in his hands., "Good, now let's get ready. Long day ahead of us."

The little guy hopped onto his shoulder and smirked, "Aw, how bad could it be?"

_Later, Jasper High…_

_'..This is boring.'_ Gummymon mentally declared.

It was bad. Very bad. In fact, in all of his short life, Gummymon was certain that this might have been the most boring thing he would ever be forced to sit through, ever...of all time. Not only was the day dragging, but worse! He was stuck in Raf's backpack for nearly the entire day by that point!

Sure, Raf had went to the bathroom a few times to let Gummymon get some fresh air...but besides that? Nothing! It was really starting to get on his nerves, something he telegraphed to Raf by rather noisily shifting in his backpack, making a bit of a racket.

A moment later, the bag was zipped open, letting light pout into the confined space. Raf's head peered into the bag, "Gummymon, what is it?"

"Are we almost done?" he quietly whined. Luckily, the sound of the teacher's lecture greatly overshadowed the little Digimon's voice.

Raf winced, "Sorry," he apologized, "But schools not over yet, not for a little while longer."

Gummymon let out a small whine and Raf looked at him sympathetically. It wasn't hard to imagine how uncomfortable it was, trapped in that bag….it couldn't have been nice along with the boredom he had to deal with.

Gummymon wilted at realizing he was still trapped in the bag,"Aw... are you sure?" he pleaded.

Raf looked up at the others. No one seemed to have noticed him yet. He looked back in the bag, "Yes, but lunch is next period. Just hold out till then, okay?"

Deep in his bag, Gummymon's eyes widened. Lunch meant food...and ever since breakfast (when Raf had sneaked him something), Gummymon was starving.

"Okay..." he whispered before ducking back into the bag.

"Just a half hour, I promise." Raf whispered, then zipped the bag up.

_'Half an hou.,'_ Gummymon thought to himself. He could manage that… After all, it could be that bad..Right?

_Lunch Period…_

The lunch area in Jasper high consisted of a large mess hall decorated with large brick walls and steel tables. Honestly, it felt more like a prison then a school lunch area, which was why Raf and his friends made a habit of eating in the halls. They'd found a nice spot in the school where they could hang out and talk in private. Unfortunately, the fastest way to get there was to go through the mess hall.

So when the smell of food hit Gummymon's nose. "Let me out!" he let out a muffled shriek from Raf's backpack.

He could hear other people and whatnot, but Gummymon could smell food! So much food! While the snack that Raf had given him earlier was able to hold him over for a few hours, the little Digimon was just starving! He wanted some real food! And he was tired of this stupid backpack!

He bounced off the cloth interior of the bag and fell back into Raf's laptop. He looked up at the zipper, "Come on, let me out!" he whined pitifully.

"Okay, okay." Raf tried to calm the little guy down, "Just a tiny bit longer, I promise."

He couldn't just let Gummymon out right that second, there were too many people around. Though he still felt guilty for letting the little guy suffer like he was…

"You said that before!" Gummymon whined again.

Raf winced, "I know. I'm just meeting with Jack and Miko." he promised.

Jack and Miko weren't that far away, and it was one of the only places where Raf could let him out without any worry.

Inwardly, Raf was a bit glad that Gummymon didn't have arms...or else he had a feeling that the Digimon might have attempted an escape by now. And then they'd really have an issue. Luckily, he saw his two friends waving him over at the far end of the lunch room.

Smiling, the boy and his Digimon quickly rushed over to the others, with Gummymon being more than a tad overanxious during the entire time. He wanted food!

"Hey Raf." Jack greeted his friend upon his arrival, "What's the hurry?"

"We going somewhere private?" Raf asked, ignoring the question.

Jack arched a brow at his bluntness, "Usual spot. Why?"

Raf looked around for a moment, "No reason...no reason at all."

Both Miko and Jack shared a strange glance for a moment, but said nothing. Instead, they just continued on with their friend in tow...who was holding his bag a bit too tightly. Instead of questioning him though, they simply lead him to their usual secluded spot. A small alcove hidden under the stairs of the school.

The trio set down their backpacks and began unpacking their lunches. Jack took a bite of a granola bar and looked over at his friend, "So, what's eating you Raf?" he asked with a mouth half full of granola.

Looking around to make sure that no one else was around, Raf let out a sigh of relief and reached for his bag.

"Well..." he hesitated for a moment, "...just this."

The moment Raf unzipped his bag, Gummymon instantly launched himself out of the small bag and landed right in the middle of the trio. This incited a series of yells that sounded something like this.

"Whoa!"

"What!?"

"Hi!"

Both humans were actually shocked with what was standing in front of them. It looked like Zerimon...but it was bigger, it could speak...and it was at school with them.

Raf smiled nervously, "Gummymon wanted to come to school with me."

"...What?" Miko repeated.

Jack looked at the little Digimon, "Gummymon…?"

"Hi!" the little guy greeted.

"...Gummymon?" Miko parroted.

"Yep!" the Digimon yelped, "That's me!"

Miko blinked before smiling, "Well, glad I wasn't the only one who brought my Digimon with me."

"Oh right…" Jack smiled while Raf nodded…

"WAIT, WHAT?!" the two teens nearly yelled at Miko.

"Well, yeah." Miko shrugged like it was obvious, "Like I was going to leave her at home during the day, yeah right."

She opened her backpack and peaked inside, "Y-you sure?" a timid voice asked.

"Yeah, it's cool." Miko assured the Digimon inside.

"Okay..." the gentle voice whispered in return. Smiling brightly, Miko sat her backpack in front of her and opened the top wide enough for her partner to slip out.

The first thing Jack, Raf, and Gummymon saw when Miko's Digimon poked its head out of the bag was what appeared to be a large flower. It had large blue petals and yellow/red tips inside of it. But as the little creature continued to emerge, the trio saw that its body was actually a fairly large and round form with massive green eyes and tiny little feet.

And it was pink. Very very pink.

Miko helped her little Digimon, who was actually about a foot tall (Much to Gummymon's annoyance), out of her bag and set her down. The Digimon looked up at the two humans with a curious expression.

Miko introduced the two teens to her Digimon, "Guys, meet Yokomon."

"Hello." Yokomon smiled at the two shocked teens and Digimon, acting a bit calmer than Gummymon had.

Blinking for a moment, Jack and Raf eventually broke out of their surprised state (surprised for not only the fact that Miko had brought her Digimon, but also for the fact that her egg had hatched too!) and smiled at the small creature.

"Hello Yokomon." Jack greeted, "I'm Jack."

The little pink Digimon nodded at him, "Hello Jack."

Jack smiled at that. Yokomon already seemed more behaved than Miko was. Imagine that? Maybe she'd teach her some manners too.

"And I'm Raf." the preteen introduced himself before looking at his own Digimon, "And this is Gummymon."

"Hi!" the little Digimon smiled, ignoring the height differences for the moment.

"Hello." Yokomon greeted the three, "It's nice to meet you all. Miko told me a lot about you."

"Oh, she did?" Jack blinked before giving Miko a warning look, "How much...?"

The girl waved off his glare with a smirk while Yokomon just continued to smile, "Nothing bad, I think...She said you were a nag though."

Miko immediately paled, "Yokomon!"

"What?" the little Digimon asked. Her face looked completely innocent.

Miko was about to tell her 'what' was wrong, but she was interrupted by a glare from Jack, "Miko..." the girl let out a nervous laugh and scooted away from Jack.

Meanwhile though, Gummymon looked at Raf in confusion, "What's a nag?"

"An annoying person that bugs you with useless information." Raf summed up.

"Oh. So is that teacher person a nag?"

Miko cracked up instantly when she heard that with Jack chuckling a bit too. Yokomon just looked on confusingly and Raf? Well, he tried not to laugh the most out of the trio. He didn't really succeed.

"I...wouldn't say that..." he snickered.

He wiped a tear from his eye,"...But you're also pretty darn close."

Gummymon looked confused, "I don't get it."

"Trust me..." Miko laughed, "It's just...so nice to hear someone finally say that..."

Yokomon was just as confused as Gummymon, "He wasn't that bad."

"Oh just wait," Miko laughed, "Deal with that nearly every day, and you're opinion will change."

"Funny Miko." Jack muttered.

"Moving on!" Raf said quickly. He didn't want the two fighting while their Digimon were there.

"Moving to where?" Yokomon asked innocently.

"Aw..." the trio nearly stopped dead in their tracks at how cute the little Digimon was. Though she did make a valid point. Lunch was only a half hour long after all.

"How about food?" Jack suggested, knowing the two Digimon were probably hungry.

"Food?!" Gummymon instantly asked, his attention quickly turned back to his partner.

Jack laughed, "He's like Guilmon."

Yokomon tilted her head (Which was basically her entire body) to the side, "Who?

"Jack's Digimon partner." Miko explained for her. He couldn't show up because well... He's a bit bigger than both of you."

"Really?" Yokomon asked, "How big?"

Thinking about it, Gummymon was the one who answered her, "About as bit as Raf. He's already a Rookie!"

"Really?!" Yokomon asked, a bit more excited than before.

"Yep, even reached Mega!"

Yokomon went wide eyed, "No. Way."

"Uh huh." Jack smiled, feeling a bit proud of his partner, "And you can meet him after school, alright?"

"Yay!" Yokomon cheered, something everyone laughed at. These two were going to have a blast with Guilmon.

Heck, all three might. Gummymon and Guilmon had already hit it off. Things were going to just get better as time went on. Speaking of Gummymon, the little Digimon looked back at Raf.

"So... food!?" he asked eagerly.

"Ah, right." Raf nodded, "I'm sure you're hungry..."

"Starving!" Gummymon nodded, his mouth drooling just a bit. He was a growing Digimon and he needed food!

"Me too!" Yokomon agreed, hungry as well.

Miko giggled and reached into her bag. She looked at Jack briefly, "Digimon can eat human food, right?"

Jack gave her a look, "Guilmon ate us out of house and home his first night in the human world." he deadpanned.

"So that's a yes."

"Ah, okay." Miko smiled before breaking out something for both her and her Digimon to eat.

"Did Guilmon really do that?" Raf asked while handing his own (and very eager) Digimon some well deserved food. It vanished from his hand and Gummymon chewed on it while humming happily.

Jack laughed, "Oh yeah. We were just thankful he liked bread the most."

"Weird, you'd think a Digimon like that would want some meat." Miko noted. Yokomon started nibbling on her morsel of food, quite content with herself.

"I'm not complaining, made it easier to feed him. Most of the was...just a bit of a surprise when downed a entire loaf of bread in one bite." Jack admitted.

He remembered nearly getting crushed when his mother almost fainted right on top of him when that had happened. She'd never expected something Guilmon's size to have such a voracious appetite. But the big guy could eat just about anyone out of house and home.

"Big Digimon, big appetite." Miko shrugged.

Raf looked at Gummymon, "Wonder if you'll be as big as Guilmon when you digivolve."

The little green Digimon swallowed its morsel, "Maybe, maybe not."

"Hey...you know don't you?" Miko mumbled as she gave her partner a small glare.

"My lips are sealed."

"You don't even have lips!"

Raf just sighed, "Those two..." Gummymon nodded while nearly swallowing an entire sandwich whole.

"So silly." he dove into a bag of goldfish.

"Hey!" Miko protested, "We are not!"

"Miko, you're pretty ridiculous most of the time." Jack informed her.

"No one asked you!"

Shrugging, Jack went back to his own food while the others continued their own little conversations and their meals.

"Honestly..." Miko scoffed.

"You are a bit silly..." Yokomon murmured.

The girl gave her partner a betrayed look, "I thought you were on my side!"

Yokomon shrank down, "I was just being honest..." she whimpered.

The betrayed look on Miko's face immediately evaporated, "Aw," she gushed before picking up the whimpering little Digimon, "I can't stay mad at you!"

Squeezing Yokomon tightly, the others just shook their heads. At least they knew a weakness Miko had now…Cute tiny adorable things. Truly the times had changed amongst their little group. For the most part.

_Later, Detention…_

"Stupid school..." Miko muttered, resting on her elbow.

Why did they have to be such sticks in the mud? It was one little comment, did that really deserve ...that comment was just one part of it, but still! No reason to stick her detention! And poor Yokomon was still stuck in her backpack (Though Miko had left it open so she'd get some light).

The In-Training Digimon poked her head out, "Miko?" she asked softly.

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't we go back with the others?" The little Digimon had no idea what was going on, or why they were still stuck in school. Everyone else had left, so why hadn't they?

Miko sighed, "Remember how we sad that my teacher was a nag?"

"Yes...?"

"Well," the girl huffed, "He's a jerk too, a stingy jerk."

"So he's keeping me in the computer lab for now." she sighed and dropped her head in her arms.

"That seems... mean." Yokomon murmured.

"Not far off." Miko muttered under her breath.

It seemed like a mean thing to do...even if Miko hadn't been picking daises either. It was just a comment and a gesture. Did it really warrant detention? If someone asked Raf or Jack, they'd say yes.

Yokomon looked around at the rows of computers in the empty room, "How long do we have to stay here?" she asked. She looked around the empty lab in confusion. There was no one else here...so what were they meant to do there? Just sit until they were allowed to leave?

"Hour or two probable tops." Miko moaned.

"That's an awfully long time." Yokomon murmured.

Miko knocked her head on the table, "I'll say..."

But in those two hours...Miko knew that she would be absolutely bored. Even with Yokomon, she was going to be bored out of her mind!

"...Do you have any ideas of what we could do?"

Miko scanned the area. The chaperone was gone for now, and they were in the computer lab to themselves. An idea popped into her head,"We could surf the web while we wait."

"Oh?" Yokomon peaked out of the backpack, "The internet?"

"Yep." Miko nodded, picking up the little Digimon before placing her on the table next to her, "I'm sure we could find something to keep us busy for a while, maybe watch some videos or something? That sound good?"

Yokomon scurried over to look at the screen, "Sounds like fun."

"Alright!" Miko cheered as she started up the computer and watched the monitor flicker on.

The girl was glad that she had someone who shared her idea of what was fun for once! Although, she also wondered how Yokomon would react to taking a few pics of the bots the next chance they got. Hopefully she liked it as much as she did.

"Okay then..." she muttered, logging into the network for a moment, "Now what can we do first..."

She opened up a web browser and made her way to Google. And then the screen went black, "Hey! What gives!?"

She smacked the browser a few times in an attempt to fix it, but nothing happened. The girl let out an angry growl.

"Miko?" Yokomon looked on in confusion, "Is everything alright?"

"No." the girl grumbled, "The computer must be on the fritz again..."

After all, these were school computers. It wouldn't be the first time they would have glitched out or something.

"You sure?" Yokomon asked worriedly.

"Yeah, no worry, I got this." Miko smacked the monitor again.

And then lines and lines of data began streaming across the screen. Miko froze, because she'd seen those data codes before.

"Oh scrap..."

"Um...Miko?" Yokomon didn't like the look of this.

The teen pushed herself away from the computer with a worried look on her face, "I didn't do it..."

However, this was no mere glitch up because of Miko's rough handling of the computer. The data continued to stream across the monitor, looking quite similar to something that had happened both the previous day...and a day ago. It looked quite similar to when Guilmon, and the two digi-eggs that hatched into Yokomon and Gummymon had emerged from the digital world.

Miko immediately scooped up Yokomon and backed away from the screen, "Time to go..." She declared.

And at that moment something emerged from the screen. It took a few seconds for it to break free of the screen. But when it did, the creature that stood in the room nearly made Miko scream in terror. It was a six foot tall yellow centipede, with a large purple beak and underside. Purple markings ran down its side, and a large stinger was at the end of its body.

The creature reared up on its back legs and let out a hiss, "Free! Finally free!"

"Oh...thats so nasty..." Miko mumbled in disgust, the girl having backed away toward the door of the computer lab.

She managed to pull her pink and white digivice from her pocket and point it at the Digimon, "Dokunemon," she read off, "Larval Digimon. It's poison claw and poison powder can kill within seconds, and it's Worm Venom is acidic..." Miko gulped and slipped her digivice back into her pocket.

The Larva Digimon's head whipped to Miko, "What was that?" he hissed, speaking in a clicking and chattering manner. He started weaving through the desks towards Miko and Yokomon, somehow seeing them despite having no eyes.

However, instead of making replying, Miko chose a much more wise choice of action. She ran for the door and tried to open it. It held firm as she frantically pulled against it though, not budging an inch.

"Scrap!" she cursed.

Locked. The stupid door was locked.. The teacher must have suspected that Miko might have tried to leave early if he left her alone, so he locked her inside until he returned. Too bad that also meant he had locked her and her partner inside with a newly freed Virus Digimon.

Dokunemon slithered out from between two desks. His many purple legs clicked against the tile floor. And upon seeing Miko and Yokomon, he raised himself and cocked his head to the side, staring at them with his eyeless face.

"Well, a human. Never seen one of you before."

He slithered forward, head bobbing from side to side. Miko began backing away, until Yokomon leaped out of her arms.

"Yokomon!" Landing between her companion and the Digimon, Yokomon glared daggers at Dokunemon.

"Stay away from her, you overgrown worm!" she commanded, trying to ignore the glaring level gap between the rookie and herself.

Dokunemon, if it had eyes, scowled at the insult, "How dare you! You little weed!"

Lifting himself upward so to appear even larger than the little plant, the Larva Digimon glared heavily at Yokomon, "I'll turn you into fertilizer for that!"

"I don't think so!" the In-Training Digimon shot back.

-**Acid Bubbles!-**

A stream of pink bubbles shot from her mouth and collided with Dokunemon. They popped against his carapace, but except for making him wince, he was utterly unharmed.

He laughed at the pathetic attack, "That's it? That's all you've got!?"

Yokomon winced slightly, she had hoped that her attacks would have worked more than that...But by all appearances, it hadn't. And it also allowed Dokunemon a chance to strike back.

"Oh well," he growled, "My turn!"

**-Worm Venom!-**

Leaping into the air, the larva Digimon spat a giant glob of liquid poison at the smaller Digimon, something that she just barely managed to get out of the way of before it splattered onto the ground with a sizzle.

Yokomon stumbled into Miko, who quickly scooped her up off the floor, "You okay?"

"I'm fine..." the ground where she'd been started to literally melt from the poison.

The two stared at it for a moment, "That was too close..."

"It'll be closer this time!" Quickly shaken from their shock, the pair quickly snapped their attention toward Dokunemon, who had leaped at them once again.

But instead of spitting more poison at them, the Digimon flipped around and stabbed at Miko and her Digimon with the massive tail attached to the back of his body.

**-Worm Venom!-**

Letting out a yelp, Miko held Yokomon tightly as she ducked out of the way of the larva's attack. This just left Dokunemon to slam tail first into the door that Miko had been in front of, completely shattering the door before flying out into the hall.

"Well there's our exit..." Miko said.

"Yeah, now we just need to get past slinky." Yokomon whimpered.

Dokunemon turned towards the two again, rearing back his head.

**-Wor**m!-

He was cut off as Miko sprinted past him, kicking him once in the gut, "Nice story, see ya, bye!"

"Agh!" the worm Digimon cursed for a moment, Miko having knocked him on his back, "That was a cheap shot!"

"Alls fair in love and war, worm boy!" Miko called out before ducking down into another hallway.

Growling to himself, the Larva Digimon let out a curse before charging after the duo in a rage. He was happy with his freedom, but he was not going to let some hairless ape and a plant humiliate him like that! With Miko however, the girl and her Digimon were quickly trying to come up with some way to deal with that pesky bug.

"Wish I had some cards or something. Give you a power boost!" she skid around the hall and continued sprinting.

"If I could digivolve I could take him on." Yokomon said wistfully.

Miko skid to a stop for a second, "Wait, why don't I just call Jack!?" With Guilmon, ol'worm boy would be nothing but data!

"Do you think he can help?" Yokomon asked, still new to all of this.

"Yeah!" Miko nodded with haste, "You should have seen what they can do! And I'm sure he and his bud could handle that worm faster than we could!"

"Alright!" Yokomon cheered, that sounded like a good plan, "But how are you going to call him? He already left!"

"Why with my phone, silly." Miko smiled, reaching into her pocket for her cell phone. She held it up triumphantly and immediately dialed Jack. Dokunemon came screaming down the hall after them as the dial tone started to ring.

Miko yelped and sprinted forward down the hall, "Come on come on, pick up!" she pleaded

On the third ring, Jack picked up _"Miko? You're supposed to-"_

"Not now Jack!" she interrupted, "Evil Digimon, trying to kill us!"

_"Wait, WHAT?!"_ Jack yelled, _"Are you alright? What's going-"_

"No time!" Miko quickly interrupted him while Yokomon jumped on her head, "Short version. Worm Digimon came out of computer, trying to kill us. I have no cards and Yokomon isn't strong enough! Need help-"

**-Acid Bubbles!-**

Miko looked back as Yokomon stunned the worm once again, but it still didn't last long, "-NOW!"

"On my way," Jack said, taking a more stern tone, "Just be careful."

"Can do!" Miko said, and then hung up.

**-Poison Claw!-**

Miko yelped and ducked down as a claw cut through the lockers in the hall. She rolled forward only to trip and fall, Yokomon being knocked across the hall. Miko groaned and got up only to see Dokunemon standing over her.

"No more running." the worm glared down at Miko despite its lack of eyes, "You're done, here and now!"

With his tailed up and ready to impale Miko, thus ending her like the Digimon wanted. The girl however, was frozen at the sight of the purple tail. The same thing that had cut through lockers and doors with ease.

"No way..."

"Yes way!" Dokunemon roared before bringing his tail down on Miko.

And then, something incredible happen. Miko threw her hands over her to protect herself and screamed.

"NO!" Miko's digivice flashed a brilliant white, blinding Dokunemon so he missed. Yokomon's voice rang through the air.

**-YOKOMON DIGIVOLVE TO!-**

A large white light suddenly engulfed the hall, both Miko and Dokunemon being temporarily blinded by the sudden light. The latter two stumbled back, hissing angrily. Apparently he could see just fine, even without visible eyes.

And he was quite angry at the sudden light, "What is this!?"

The light itself was actually coming from Yokomon. Streams of data spiraled around her, engulfing her in an egg of data. This continued for a few moments until the light finally died down. But once it had, Miko and Dokunemon were shocked at what they were seeing.

Standing in Yokomon's place was what appeared to be a large pink bird, with blue highlights on the tip of some of her feathers and a large red beak. The bird's wings were strangely shaped like arms and had a set of three long claws on each end of them. She had large yellow talons for feet with a silver ring wrapped around one of her ankles. The bird spread her wings wide.

**-BIYOMON!-**

Miko stared at her partner wide eyed, "Y-you... you digivolved!"

The newly named Biyomon quickly put herself between Miko and Dokunemon, a scowl on her face, "Stay away from her worm breath!"

"And what are you going to do about it bird brain?" Dokunemon demanded. Then, without warning, his tail lanced forward.

**-POISON CLAW!-**

Biyomon dodged the tail and somehow managed to take to the sky's despite the arm shape of her wings.

**-SPIRAL TWISTER!-**

Flapping her wings at a speed that didn't seem physically possible, Dokunemon and Mikoewere suddenly surprised when streaks of green _fire_ suddenly emerged from the bird's wings. They looked very powerful and proved as much to. The flames quickly started to swirl in a twister-like fashion and flew right at the larva Digimon.

"NO-" Dokunemon roared before the fire connected.

The flames not only burned the worm-like Digimon, but the velocity from the twister sent him flying through a nearby wall and crashing into the room. A laptop crashed across from the Digimon and broke apart. It's hard drive landed in front of the wounded Dokunemon. The worm shook himself and saw the device before him and growled.

"That'll do nicely."

Biyomon landed in front of Miko with a worried expression, "Are you alright?"

Miko stared at her partner wide eyed and only gave a small nod. She'd digivolved. Her partner had digivolved to save her…

But such heroics were suddenly interrupted when they heard a loud growl from the hole in the wall. Both Tamer and Digimon looked through to see Dokunemon rising back up. A hard drive was impaled on his tail and data was streaming across his body.

"So much data!" he laughed, "I never knew the human world had so much data!"

They lines of coding raced over his body, covering his carapace. Biyomon put a feathered hand on Miko's shoulder, "I think we need to run Miko…"

The girl gave a nod, "Good idea…"

And on that note, the two sprinted onward again for the exit. Luckily, they were fairly close and managed to escape while the data formed a familiar egg shape around Dokunemon. They slammed the doors open and ran down the front steps leading into the school. Only to run straight into Jack and Guilmon.

"Jack!" Miko yelped, nearly falling onto her behind if it wasn't for Biyomon being there to keep her on her feet.

"Miko, are you alright!?" the teen quickly asked the girl before noticing the unfamiliar looking Digimon at his friend's side, "And you are...?"

"I'm Biyomon!" the bird flapped her arms for a moment, "And we're fine, but Dokunemon is coming!"

"Dokunemon..." Jack looked at the school doors. Guilmon hunched down and his pupils narrowed. A low growl rumbled from his chest and his body was tense. There was a Digimon there, but it couldn't be a Dokunemon. He was a Rookie. Guilmon only got this aggressive when it was a…

"Get back!" Jack yelled, and dragged the two away from the front of the school just in time.

The front doors and a good chunk of the masonry exploded outwards with an inhuman screech accompanying it. The two Tamers and their Digimon coughed and waved the smoke out of their eyes. When it cleared, Miko felt her jaw drop.

"Oh no…"

Dokunemon was no more. That hard drive must have had a lot of data on it, because the creature that stood at the school entrance was huge! It stood nearly 15 feet tall, and was coated in bright red chitonous armor with four arms and two long thin legs. Bits of ridged black armor covered it's muscled area, and it's visible skin was a sickly green color. And it had many, many sharp serrated teeth under a large set of scissor like horns that jut from either side of its mouth.

"Kuwagamon. Insect Digimon. Champion." Jack read off from his digivice, "It's hard shell gives it strong defensive traits and will not stop attacking the enemy with its giant scissors until they collapse."

Miko and Biyomon both gulped. Kuwagamon looked down at the tiny beings before him, "There you are, you little brats!" he hissed.

Jack and Guilmon exchanged looks, "Thats the Digimon that was giving you trouble?" Jack asked the two girls, not that impressed with that insect Digimon.

""A-are you serious!?" Miko yelped, "He's fifteen feet tall!"

"Right..." Jack and Guilmon muttered. Right as Kuwagamon started towards them across the parking lot.

"Guilmon, if you'd please," Jack said, gesturing his partner forward.

"Right!" the Digimon said, stepping forward.

"Jack..." Miko and Biyomon didn't look too sure about what they were seeing, "What are you doing?"

The teen chuckled, "Trust me, Guilmon has this."

Both the girl and bird shared a look but remained silent, leaving Kuwagamon to be the only one to say anything.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

Guilmon hunched down while Jack raised a breath, "Guilmon, want to teach him a lesson?"

The Digimon just growled. Jack pulled out his digivice, twirling it in his hand as he did, "That's what I thought."

He pulled a card from a pack on his belt and spun it between his fingers. With a smirk, he slid it across the card reader.

**-DIGIMODIFY! DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!-**

A sudden light exploded from the digivice and Digimon, blinding Kuwagamon and stopping the bug in his tracks.

With a determined look in his eyes, several streams of red light suddenly wrapped themselves around Guilmon, forming an egg shape around him. But inside the egg construct, no one could see as Guilom's skin was shed off of his digital body, leaving a wireframe in its place. Then, the Digimon suddenly started to grow, his skin returning with new features while his size drastically increased.

The light eventually faded at this point, allowing the worm Digimon to see what was standing in front of him...

**-GROWLMON!-**

And Guilmon was... well no longer Guilmon. _Growlmon_, stood well over twenty feet high, with a muscled body, thick white hair at the base of his skull and spikes jutting from his fore arms.

The Digimon slammed his clawed feet into the asphalt, shattering it. He let out an angry snort, fire flying from his nostrils.

Miko and Biyomon stared, "Wow..."

Jack just stood there with a smirk on his face. It had been _far_ too long since he and his bud had done this. _Far too long._

Kuwagamon though? Well his new form gave him a bit of an ego, even if Growlmon towered a good five feet over him. The Champion level Digimon just screeched and charged forward. Growlmon took in a breath and roared, a roar that sounded like the long extinct Tyrannosaurus Rex and shook the very earth around him. It was a miracle no one was around to see the spectacle unfolding, though Miko was. And she was glad she had her phone on her for all the pictures she was about to take.

Growlmon and Kuwagamon slammed into each other. The earth shook as the two titans wrestled against each other. Kuwagamon's pinchers started mashing at Growlmon, trying to cleave his head off. The dino Digimon wasn't having any of that though, and grabbed the pincer's with his two large muscular arms.

He wrenched Kuwagamon to the side and shoved the Digimon into the ground. Miko and Biyomon struggled to stay standing. Jack watched Growlmon with a small smile, his arms crossed. The shaking of the earth didn't even phase him.

Kuwagamon got back up on his feet and screeched at Growlmon.

**-TRAP SCISSORS!-**

He lunged forward and clamped his mandibles around Growlmons neck. Only Growlmons quick thinking kept his neck still attached to his shoulders. He held them back with his arms, grunting and growling at the Champion.

**-SCISSOR CLAWS!-**

Kuwagamon used his many arms to lash out at Growlmon, leaving thin cuts in his hide. Growlmon growled angrily at that and took in a deep breath.

**-PYRO BLASTER!-**

A ball of fire flew from his mouth and slammed into Kuwagamon's chest at close range. The Champion screeched in fury and pain, releasing Growlmon. Now released, Growlmon took his chance and lunged forward.

The spikes jutting from his arm started to glow white hot and he slashed at Kuwagamon.

**-DRAGON SLASH!-**

It cut deep into Kuwagamon's smaller secondary arms, lopping it clean off. Kuwagamon screeched in pain while Growlmon lit his other spike and slashed up. There was a smell of searing flesh and the mandible on the right side of the beast went flying away.

Kuwagamon stumbled back and fell to his knees. His entire outline was fuzzy and data started streaming off of where his mandible and limb had once been. Growlmon towered over the massive bug and took in a breath.

**-PYRO BLASTER!-**

And unleashed another ball of fire at point blank range. Kuwagamon screeched and fell backward. Data streamed off his body, and instead of the giant bug hitting the ground, Dokunemon did. His body was battered and beaten, with his outline fuzzy.

The now Rookie level Digimon groaned and looked up at Growlmon. And seeing the giant towering over him, he suddenly felt what Yokomon must have felt earlier...being outmatched by a Digimon a level above him...

"Oh boy..." he whimpered slightly, almost as if he was staring at a bug zapper...with teeth. Growlmon lowered himself to eye level.

Dokunemon back away the best he could, "Ugh... no hard feelings...?"

A low deep throated growl emanated from Growlmon, "...I guess not..." the worm whimpered before trying to inch himself back toward the school.

However, before he could get close enough...a large RED tail suddenly smashed down behind the larva Digimon, blocking his path.

"Where do you think you're going?" Growlmon demanded. He sounded like Guilmon, but his voice was deeper and far more gravely. He sounded like a dangerous predator, not a playful dog.

Dokunemon shrank down, "I was... going back to the digital world..." The worm said quietly.

Growlmon promptly plucked him off the ground and held him between two claws.

"Ah ah. Not yet." Jack walked up next to Growlmon with his arms crossed. Miko and Biyomon were in the background, staring at the duo in shock.

"W-what?!" the worm asked in frantic muttering, "I won't hurt anyone else! I'll just leave!"

His chose to suddenly return to the digital world had nothing to do with how utterly trounced he'd been by Growlmon, or how close he was to his face. Or the fact that Growlmon looked ready to eat him.

"Ah, but thats the issue." Jack walked up next to his partner's leg, "You tried to hurt _our _friends, so letting you leave so easily?...not going to happen. And besides," he added, "I want to know how you got out of the Digital world in the first place."

"W-w-what!?"

"Tell us how you got out and we might let you go."

"How...?" the bug asked, wishing he had eyes so he could look somewhere else.

"Yeah, how." Jack put his hands on his hips and looked up at the worm. This was like a old trick he and Guilmon had gotten used to last time. Almost like a routine for them really.

"Now, how did you get here?" he asked while Growlmon tightened his grip on the little worm.

"I... I don't know!" Dokunemon insisted, "I just... found... a portal..."

Jack frowned, "And how do we know you're not lying?"

"I'm not! I swear! I was running from some giant mega Digimon and found the portal!" Growlmon and Jack shared a look. That was a mixed excuse.

Bigger Digimon chasing smaller ones wasn't that hard to believe, especially when it came to something like this Dokunemon. But still,"So, you just...found a portal? That's it? Nothing strange going on other than that?"

"I... I don't know!" Dokunemon yelped, "I don't, I swear!"

Jack frowned, scratching his chin, "This Digimon, what did he look like?"

If the Digimon had eyes, he'd blink, "Ugh... really big, bigger than T-bone here-" Growlmon let out a dangerous growl.

"Growlmon, let him speak." Jack ordered.

Growlmon just nodded while Dokunemon continued, "Long brown arms and legs, blue armor, lot of yellow hair. Real creepy looking too. That's all I could see, I swear!"

The worm Digimon actually seemed quite frightened when he spoke of that strange Digimon, so Jack seemingly had a good reason to believe him. He did seem actually scared.

However, Jack felt a bit of a pit in his stomach form as the Dokunemon described the mysterious Digimon. It didn't sound like a average Digimon going out for a hunt, it sounded something a bit worse than that.

"Growlmon, this ring any bells for you?" he asked his partner.

Growlmon shook his large head, "Uh uh." he said, "No bells."

Jack sighed, "Fantastic. Let him go Growlmon, he's no threat."

The giant Digimon nodded, letting go of the whimpering worm and letting him slam face first into the ground below them.

"What?!" Jack turned to both Miko and Biyomon, "Are you serious!? After he tried to kill us!?"

The teen understood that, but he did give the two a look that said 'Hold on and watch'. Miko blinked a few times at that. Then she scowled.

"Oh he did not just-" Biyomon grabbed her by the arm.

"Maybe we should let him do what he's going to do..." Miko's eyes twitched for a moment, but she eventually did settle down for the moment.

With his way to freedom (yet again) right in front of the worm, Dokunemon quickly turned upright and started toward the school's doors.

"Don't mind it I do-"

However, the worm was stopped dead when he felt something step on his tail...something big. He looked back to see Growlmon stepping on it, "H-hey... what's the big idea, we had a deal!"

"We do, and I intend to fulfill it." Jack promised with 100% sincerity, "However, I need a promise from you."

Dokunemon paled the best way a bug could pale, "P-promise!?"

"Yeah, a promise." Jack crossed his arms at the Larva, "You see, my friend here has a bit of a problem with people messing with people he likes..." he mused, pointing to Growlmon in the process.

The giant dino Digimon bared his teeth at the worm, nearly giving him a heart attack, "And you see, he likes the two people you were just chasing..."

"So, here's a deal for you." Jack narrowed his eyes, "March back through that portal and promise me that you won't come back...or..."

Dokunemon gulped, "...or...?"

"Or Growlmon fries you like the worm you are." Jack said in a dead serious tone. Growlmon snarled to emphasize his point, "Got it?"

The Digimon nodded quickly, "Got it, got it! I'll never come back, I promise!"

Jack's gaze softened, "Good, now go."

One of Growlmon's massive toes slowly rose, just barely freeing the Digimon from its pinned state.

"Ah!" Dokunemon frantically yelled before dashing his way back into the school's hall, vanishing from sight in a flash.

Smiling, Jack patted his Digimon on the side, "Nice job buddy."

Growlmon let out a huff in responce while Jack turned back to Miko, "Was that good enough for you?"

Miko blinked a few times. "...Jeez Jack. Don't you think that was a bit much?"

Jack shrugged at that, "Some Digimon are as thick headed as the cons, so you have to be a bit straight with them. Drill it into their heads."

"Right boy?" he turned to Gowlmon, who have the teen a big nod in return. Many hostile Digimon were very difficult to reason with. They only understood one thing, power. There were exceptions of course, but a good many of them simply tried to show off their power.

"That's what I thought." Jack then looked back at Miko with a tad more concern, "You alright?"

Miko straightened up indignantly, "Who, me? I'm fine!"

Completely believable...

"Right..." Jack mumbled, "What about you...Biyomon?"

The bird Digimon quickly nodded, a bit more believable than her partner, "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for helping us."

Jack smiled, "Don't mention it."

Biyomon nodded, "Still, thank you."

Jack smiled brightly at that. It was nice to hear someone actually thanking him for once. Though looking around at the damage that had been wrought, Jack realized something.

"We should probably head back to the Autobots," he said, "Before someone comes along and see's us."

Miko, Biyomon, and Growlmon all nodded, with the girl pulling her phone out and dialing Ratchet. While she talked with the Medic, Jack looked up at his partner.

"Alright Growlmon, you can degenerate now." Jack said as a bridge swirled to life behind them.

Growlmon blinked, "Uh... right... how do I do that again?"

Jack stopped suddenly while both Miko and Biyomon just stared at the massive hulking Digimon.

"You...serious?"

Growlmon shrugged, "I haven't done this in a while, so I...kind of forgot."

The Digimon's partner let out a sigh, "Right..."

He spared a glance at the area and sighed a second time. "Let's get back to base then we can figure this out, okay?"

Growlmon gave a nod. "Right."

"Alright." Jack replied before turning to Miko and Biyomon.

With a quick nod, the duo followed behind both Growlmon and Jack as they entered the swirling Ground Bridge. It was a better idea to leave before someone noticed the giant red Digimon and freaked out.

And with the broken doors of the high school behind them, the four vanished from sight along with the ground bridge, confident that they'd managed to do some good…

_Digital World…_

A lone figure stood in a sea of data whizzing by him. Bits of information from every computer, every smart phone, every electronic device swirled by him in an expanse of raw unrefined data. This area of the Digital World the most basic form of the Digital World. It was wild and dangerous to all but the most powerful Digimon, like the figure standing there.

He stood massively tall, nearly forty feet in height. Black and gold Digizoid covered his body in elaborate and smooth flowing armor. Golden highlights covered his gauntlets, boots, cuirass and his swept back helmet. Two large gold and black pieces of armor just from his back, with golden feathers spreading out beneath the armor. Wings of steel and data, with a long deep purple cape hanging between them.

The armored Digimon looked around whilst scowling, _'Where is that virus?'_ he thought angrily. The Digimon was supposed to meet him there long ago.

He had made it _quite_ clear that he did not like to be kept waiting. It was rather fortunate that the Digimon had chosen his present location as their meeting place. For there were no Digimon nearby to face his annoyed wrath.

However, the Digimon's rage and attention was soon drawn away from the sea of data when he heard another presence slowly arriving.

"What. Took. You?" the figure growled, watching as another Digimon fizzed into view from the sea of data.

It was a large Digimon, arguably as large as he was, with a vaguely humanoid body. The creature's arms and legs were grey brown long and thin, both limbs also ending in a set of red claws. The rest of its body (besides the center of its torso) was covered in a dark blue set of armor with a gaping hole in the creature's chest. Sickly green energy swirled in the center of that hole. Blood red spikes sprouted from the creatures back, stopping at it's long greasy yellow hair. It's face was repulsive, with blue armor covering everything but the eyes, mouth, and jaw. It's exposed skin was also grey brown, with spiked teeth and unblinking yellow and green eyes.

A dark chuckling echoed as the massive Digimon, its horned head and its expressionless eyes stared at the black armored Digimon. It knew that arriving late had annoyed him, and took pleasure in that fact.

And when it spoke, it's voice was deep and slimy, rasping as a blade across leather, "I was merely setting events into motion... Though things have not gone as we'd hoped..."

The black armored Digimon uncrossed his arms, "What do you mean 'not as we hoped'?" he demanded, "Your task was simple, Diaboromon, you were supposed to chase the Digimon out of the digital world to spread chaos before it would be inevitably be destroyed."

Diaboromon let out a deep hissing breath, "There were... complications..."

"Complications?" the black Digimon hissed.

"There was...someone waiting for it..." Diaboromon continued, "And chased the vermin back through the portal before he could...have any fun."

Fists tightening, the Armored Digimon let out a menacing growl, "That coward, he merely returned back through the portal? Just like that!? He dared to defy me like that?"

That worm had one job, and he ran away from it!? The Digimon could feel his rage beginning to bubble up.

The demonic looking Digimon let out a sickening chuckle, "Oh, he has suffered..." Diaboromon clenched one of his hands tightly, his claws scraping against each other, "Immensely."

The blackened Digimon didn't dignify that with a response. His alliance with Diaboromon was out of necessity. Nothing more, nothing less. But that still left him with a problem.

"Who was waiting for him?" he asked.

Diaboromon unclenched his claw and set it on the ground where it clacked noisily, "A tamer... the same one who Myotismon... Foolishly lost too..."

If the black armored Digimon had an eyebrow, he would have raised it, "The same? Even after all this time?" he mused, "I am to assume that he has his Digimon with him as well?"

Diaboromon nodded, his expressionless eyes showing nothing but the same stillness, "Yes...We are not aware how, but he is there too... I told you...we should have dealt with him when we had a chance..."

"No, that would have been foolish." the black armored Digimon shook his head, "The tamer's partner is well known by the Digimon. A hero to them. Killing him, whether it was known or not, would have delivered a great blow to the Digital world."

Diaboromon cocked it's head to the side, "Your politics are... frustrating..." he hissed.

"They maintain order." the Digimon shot back.

That earned a sickly laugh from the Viral creature, "But...politics are...boring."

The sound of armor tightening soon followed. The armored Digimon was finding it very hard to stay calm while he was in Diaboromon's presence. The monster was beyond irritating, just by the sound of his voice...made the Digimon want to erase him from the digital realm.

"Just be satisfied that I am allowing you to cause chaos in the human world." he growled.

Diaboromon simply ignored the comment, "This tamer presents a...danger to our...plans... Alphamon..." he reminded him.

"Something I am aware of." Alphamon growled, "But he is but one Digimon."

"Three." the viral Digimon interrupted.

Alphamon froze and his eyes narrowed, "What?"

"There are three tamers now. Not one."

That was news to the Mega, "What?"

This earned a sickening laugh from the viral Digimon once again, "There were...three fluctuations. One of them being the tamer...and the other two were others. We have three of them now...standing in our way." Diaboromon told him, his tone being a cross between annoyance and anticipation.

Alphamon was far from thrilled though,"You can't be serious!?" he roared, "Another two!?"

"Yes..." Diaboromon nodded.

He spread his claws and a picture fizzed to life of the three tamers of which he spoke, and their respective Digimon.

"Do you...still think they are of no threat?" Diaboromon leaned his head to the side, "One of them...destroyed MaloMyotismon. Now, what...could three of them do...to our plans?"

Despite the emotionless face he had, Alphamon was beyond furious. His eyes were even glowing in a fiery rage, "They must be destroyed before the other two reach the same level of the oldest!" he bellowed.

Diaboromon let out another sickening chuckle, "There's more..." he told the Digimon.

Alphamon visibly twitched, "What!?"

Seeing the almighty Alphamon nearly lose his cool was something that Diaboromon would never get tired of.

"One of them...has already reached the level of Rookie..." he told his companion, which just infuriated Alphamon even more.

"Is there _anything else_ you want to tell me!?" he demanded.

"Yes." Diaboromon rasped, "There are other...creatures, besides the humans..."

Alphamon's rage subsided, "What?" he was getting tired of saying that.

"They are...extraterrestrials..." Diaboromon chuckled, bringing up yet another image. But this one depicted a photo of Bumblebee instead of the children,

"They are not...from the human's world." he explained, "And...they are split within their own war, taking place on the human's world..."

"Really?" Alphamon looked on, a bit intrigued, "And tell me, what do these... E.T.'s-" Diaboromon chuckled, prompting a glare from Alphamon, "Think of the humans."

Diaboromon's picture shifted to a blurred picture of Megatron, "One faction wishes to enslave the humans, viewing them as ants."

"Hmph. A good sentiment."

Diaboromon nodded, agreeing with that statement. Enslave or destroy, either were good in his opinion.

"And the other faction?"

The Viral Digimon then shifted the picture back to Bumblebee along with a picture of Optimus as well, "They side...with the humans."

Alphamon's eyes flashed red, "Why side with the vermin?"

Diaboromon played an audio file from Optimus, _'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.'_

"Such a foolish and naive creature..." Alphamon sneered.

Freedom did not exist, not true freedom. Everything needed to be ruled by something. It wass the only way they survived, or they would become something...that didn't deserve to exist. Like Diaboromon. 'Freedom' had been what created such a vile creature. Under his control, Alphamon would ensure such creatures never came into existence again.

"Perhaps..." Diaboromon continued, "But they are...allied...with the...tamers..."

"Hm..." Alphamon considered this, "And, you think they can be a threat to our plans as well?"

Diaboromon nodded, "Yes...they have power, and along...with the tamers, they can...be a formidable annoyance. Any Digimon... would be at risk... facing them together..."

Alphamon crossed his arms again and narrowed his eyes, "But alone, they may be susceptible..."

Diaboromon chuckled, "Of course…It would just require…the right timing..." he noted, crushing each picture as he continued to speak, "...and the right choice of force to do so..."

Alphamon would have smiled if he could, "And I believe I know the perfect Digimon to do so..."

"Oh?" Diaboromon mused, "And who...would that be?"

Alphamon let out a laugh. It wasn't as haunting or chilling as the virus', but it was...dark, malevolent. It was a darkness that made the data around them stir and swirl in uneasy patterns.

"Oh, I'm sure you would get along fine with him..."He waved his hand and an image shimmered into being briefly before the Virus.

Diaboromon cocked his head to the side, and then let out a dark chuckle, "He will do... he will do quite fine..."

**A/N: And so the plot begins! Yeah, thought you'd never see that, did you? But what's this? Two Mega Level Digimon working together? What are their end goals, why do they hate each other so, and who are they sending after the Tamers? Find out next time, on Digital Resurgance!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Attack

_Autobot HQ…_

"WHAT IN PRIMUS NAME IS THAT!?"Jack winced. He should have seen that coming...a mile away.

Upon returning to the base, Jack should have known at the least that Raf and Gummymon would have been utterly shocked at the sight of Growlmon. But Ratchet? Well... He nearly had a spark attack.

Growlmon hung his head and let out a pitiful moan, "I hate it when people say that..." he muttered to himself. When someone said that to him, it made Growlmon think he was a monster.

But such a comment (and Growlmon's reaction) made Jack glared flaming swords at the medic. No one insulted his friend like that, especially over this form. Jack still had the occasional flashback to that night all those years ago. The night his partner digivolved for the first time...

He shook off the flashback and resumed glaring at the medic, "Ratchet, that _'thing' _is Growlmon. He is Guilmon's Champion form, and he is _still_ the same Digimon from yesterday.So I'd appreciate it if you DIDN'T insult him like that."

The medic didn't respond for a moment since he was...well, he was still utterly shocked and a bit concerned about the giant Digimon standing in front of him. And knowing that it was the same Digimon that Bulkhead had insulted the previous day, well, he could see why the duo had been eager to prove the Wrecker wrong.

"I...see..." the medic said slowly,"Apologies..."

Jack was still frowning at the medic, but he then directed his attention back to his partner, "You okay buddy?"

Upon hearing the medic apologize (even if it was more out of shock than seriousness), Growlmon nodded with a better mood, "Yeah, it's okay."

"Good," Jack managed a smile at seeing his partner in a slightly better mood, "Why don't you go find somewhere to sit?"

Growlmon nodded, "Okay."

The massive Digimon stomped his way over to the human section of the command center and paused when he realized he wouldn't fit up there. So he marched over to the med bay instead and rested his large head on the edge of the platform so he could watch the others. Meanwhile, Miko and Biyomon made their way over to where Raf and Gummymon were sitting and plopped themselves on the couch in a huff.

"Hey guys." Miko greeted the teen and his Digimon, both who were sitting to their side with shocked expressions on their faces.

Growlmon was still a bit of a surprise for the duo.After all, friendly Guilmon became... that…giant…T-Rex!?

However, Gummymon _did_ notice that Yokomon was no longer Yokomon, "HEY!"

"Hm?" Miko and Yokomon looked over at the tiny Digimon, "What?"

"You digivolved!" the squishy Digimon accused. It wasn't fair! Why was he the last one who would get too?! Why was he stuck in his In-training form the longest!?

Biyomon looked down at herself, "Oh yeah... I kind of forgot in all the excitement..."

She scratched her head and looked at him apologetically, "Sorry!"

Gummymon just hunched on Raf's shoulder, mumbling to himself about how unfair it was to be last.

Miko chuckled slightly, "Aw, come on little guy. I'm sure you'll do it eventually."

"Yeah...yeah..." Gummymon mumbled, much to Raf's amusement and pity.

Biyomon sighed, "Well, would you rather of had Dokunemon trying to kill you and Raf to do so?"

Gummymon looked away, "No..." he mumbled sadly.

"So see? Everything worked out." Miko smiled happily.

"Still not fair." the little guy mumbled.

Jack walked up the stairs and patted Growlmon on the snout, getting the big guy to start wagging his tail. He then looked over at Gummymon.

"It shouldn't be long for you, Gummymon. Maybe you'll get lucky and warp-digivolve."

The little green blob perked up, "Warp-digivolve?" he'd never heard that phrase before.

Jack gave a nod, "Yeah. It's when a Digimon skips a generation or two and goes straight to the next phase. Guilmon and I do it every once in a while, especially when we bio-merge. It could happen to you if the situation demands it."

Gummymon hopped up and down excitedly, "You really think so!?"

Raf gave Jack a thankful look and the teen gave an imperceptible nod. He turned his attention back to Gummymon, "Yeah, who knows. Maybe you'll go straight to Champion."

"Oh yeah!" Gummymon leaped for joy, "That would be so cool! Gummymon warp digivolve to mega ultra Gummymon!"

In his excitement, the little guy slipped off the edge of the couch and fell back on the ground with an audible plop. Everyone laughed while he shook himself, unharmed from the landing. It paid to be a slime ball sometimes.

But while the kids and their Digimon laughed and had a generally good time, something…malevolent crossed over into the world…

_Elsewhere…_

Somewhere, several miles away from Jasper sat a little town. It was quite a bit smaller than the home town of the Tamers, and it was fairly normal. Only a few dozen people lived in it, and most people barely even knew the place existed. If Jasper was the tail end of nowhere, this town was Jasper times four.

And unfortunately, it held no hidden races of machines, or anything strange or mysterious going on. Just a normal sleepy town in Nevada. Or at least, there was nothing...until a strange electrical surge flashed through the town's systems. It arched along the power lines, sending sparks flying and causing transformers to detonate.

In the dead center of the city, electricity poured from the many power lines, culminating in the middle of the area. At first it was nothing but electricity crawling across the ground towards the center. When they finally met in the center, they started converging and merging together into one singular form. It grew and grew and grew, until it took on the form of an egg.

A glowing egg scrawled with various dark symbols. Anger and pain radiated from the egg, while it began to pulsate and grow. And then, in a single moment, shattered in a massive explosion. Streaks of energy shot out across the city in a cascading shockwave. The entire power for the city went dead, completely drained.

And where the egg was? A tall figure in a dark black suit with torn blackened wings slowly stood. He raised his unnaturally long and thin arms up, and flexed his large clawed hands. His bat-like wings spread wide behind himself, casting a long shadow in the pale moonlight.

Lifting his massive hands to his face, the massive figure smiled deviously before spreading his arms wide. He then lifted his head back, looking up to the moon. It glowed so bright, almost as if it was welcoming his arrival into the mortal world, the human world.

During all of this however, various people had emerged from their houses, places of business, and even their cars. They had done so originally because of the power suddenly going dark, but now? They were all gazing at the giant man standing at the center of their town. He was truly giant, well over twelve feet tall. His legs were unnaturally long and his arms stretched past his waist and knees.

He saw the many pedestrians in the street staring at him, "Oh?" the figure wondered aloud, his dark and sinister voice echoing through the streets, "A welcoming community? Well, I'm touched..."

Then his hands were raised.

**-TOUCH OF EVIL!-**

Suddenly, a shockwave exploded forth from the figure's body, expanding right toward the edge of the town. The wave of blackened energy phased through everyone in the town as though they weren't even there. And when it hit them? Every man, woman, and child went still…and dropped dead.

They were not unconscious, asleep, or even knocked into a coma... they were gone, their life force drained. The devilish being grinned to himself and lowered his unnaturally long arms.

"That was enjoyable." he said to himself, and let out a sinister chuckle.

He looked to the north, a disturbing smile spreading across his face, "Time to fulfill my mission."

Turning toward the direction where his masters had informed of, the hauntingly dark Digimon released a insufferably dark laugh. Spreading his wings wide, the monster shot into the air, vanishing into the darkness of the night, leaving not even a trace of his presence behind.

All that was left, was the bodies of his victims, laying where the wave had touched them. The town was unknown. It was a safe bet that no one would ever find them in the near future…And the pattern would continue. But this time, at Jasper...

_Later, the Following Day…_

"So, how did you explain yesterday, Miko?"

While they waited for their partners to arrive, the trio of Raf, Miko, and Jack sat in front of their highschool while the time passed. They hadn't brought their Digimon this time however, as Biyomon was now too big to fit into Miko's backpack comfortably, and Gummymon didn't want to sit through school while in his bag again.

Plus, with the Digimon attack yesterday, the town had gone into a small lockdown for several hours. Four years ago the attacks had been common place, with drills and preparations in place should they happen again. A twelve hour lockdown was part of that process. But when the Digimon failed to reappear, the town had quickly returned to normal and people were back to business.

And in that case, the school was now empty (The front entrance was to be repaired over the weekend) and the three teens sat in front of the ruined front of the school. Surprisingly, Kuwagamon hadn't damaged much_ inside _the school, just the front. It was a miracle honestly. That and the fact that no one thought to question Miko. That girl had some good luck on her.

"Hmm? Well, no one really knows I was involved..." She started.

"But weren't you in dentition?" Raf asked, "Didn't the teacher ask you what happened, or why you left?"

The teacher had to be an idiot if he just forgot to ask the girl, especially since he had left her in the same room as all the chaos had went on in. Again, that Nakadai good luck was astounding at times.

"Well..." Miko scratched the back of her head, "See... teacher wasn't IN the room when it happened..."

Jack and Raf shared a disbelieving look, "But didn't he question anything when he came back? Or why you weren't there?"

"Nope!" Miko said, "Growlmon and Kuwagamon's rumble made a big enough distraction that everyone forgot about me!"

Jack and Raf exchanged looks, "That is so not fair."

So she got out of any trouble because some teacher caught a sight at Growlmon (JACK'S Digimon) and Kuwagamon fighting!? How was that fair at all?

"Heh, I guess I just got lucky." Miko smiled, "About time."

"Yeah, 'lucky' ." Jack muttered. Not fair at all.

"Hey," Raf said before Miko said something really stupid, "Where are the bots?"

The other teens looked around for a moment, and realized Raf was right. The bots were nowhere to be seen, "I'm...not sure."

"Yeah…" Jack frowned.

Normally, Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, or hell, even Ratchet would show up by that point if the others were busy at the time. But now? Nothing.

Jack frowned and stood up, "I don't like this..." he muttered. Something didn't feel right… Call it a gut feeling, but now that Raf had pointed out their absence… Jack felt very uneasy.

"Maybe they're stuck in a mission or something?" Miko suggested.

Jack looked at the teen. It was...possible, but he had a feeling that wasn't the case, "Maybe..."

A shiver suddenly shot down his spine, nearly identical to one he'd felt four years ago. Fear spiked through Jack's system, and he immediately grabbed Raf and Miko and dragged them off the steps.

"Whoa! What gives!?" Miko demanded.

"We go, now!"

"Wha?" Miko asked, not liking being dragged along, "Why?"

Jack didn't even look back to address her, "Just trust me! We need to leave, now!"

He felt as if...something was coming for them, something was there...a dark, sinister presence... Almost like Myotismon...but worse, darker and far more twisted. And it was getting close. Disturbingly close. Jack could practically _feel_ it breathing down his neck. Like the cold hands of death...slowly reaching around to snap his little nec-

"Agh!" Jack shook his head. He had to stay focused. He had to get home, or somewhere. Somewhere far away from this...thing.

"Someone call base!" he ordered. The feeling of darkness was getting closer, "We need our Digimon!"

"Fine, fine." Miko grumbled taking out her phone while they left the school far behind them. She still didn't understand what was going on...

"Just hurry..." Jack muttered, feeling as if the presence was getting even closer... He could swear that a fog was starting to fall over Jasper. And it was never foggy in Jasper. Unless a Digimon entered the real world…

Miko flipped open her phone and dialed base, "Hello? Biyomon? Where's Ratchet?"

She stopped, making Jack halt, "What do you mean on a mission? Never mind, we need a bridge."

Jack cursed, "Oh all the times for the bots to be on a mission..."

"Oh..." Miko muttered suddenly, "Right...you don't know how to operate the bridge..."

The girl then turned to Raf, "Hey...do you think you can run Biyomon through how to send us a bridge?"

"It's a bit complicated." Raf explained.

"Try and simplify it!" Jack ordered a bit tensely. The presence was practically standing over them at this point.

"Hehehehe…" the trio froze. A dark laugh echoed through Jasper, rising and falling like the waves of an ocean. It echoed from everywhere and nowhere, it's source unidentifiable… All they could make out was the dark laugh…

"How the little mice run…" it laughed, "How they scamper toward what they think is safety…"

With the absolutely slowest turn they could manage, the trio turned around and looked to their sides. And there, in a alleyway they had just past...was darkness, nothing but darkness...darkness and two pairs of red eyes. Strike that, red _glowing_ eyes!

Miko let out a yelp and scurried backwards, "Ugh, Jack!?"

Jack was frozen, just staring back at the red eyes and the darkness. The Darkness that slowly crawled along the edges of the alleyway, like a horde of rats scurrying along. He could even hear the sound of…something slithering across the stone.

But before any of the three could react even slightly, a long...black arm with bandages wrapped around it shot out toward the teens with its claws extended. Only Jack's quick thinking saved the trio, when he shoved them out of the way.

"RUN!" he ordered.

"No need to tell me twice!" Miko yelped. The three of them ran as the darkness laughed.

"Three blind mice..." it hummed, "see how they run..."

Jack spared a glance over his shoulder and saw the shadows slowly spilling out of the alleyway and slowly started tailing them.

"They all ran after the farmer's wife..."

The trio continued to run, trying to ignore the darkness billowing behind them...spreading like a unnatural plague.

"...Who cut off their tails with a carving knife..."

But the darkness didn't stop there. It grew, spreading like a disease, a virus...even catching the teens off guard when more arms suddenly shot out of every alley they passed, all of which they barely avoided at the last second.

Miko screamed as one nearly grabbed her legs. She just missed it and Biyomons calm voice sounded alarm over the phone, _"Miko!? What's going on!?"_

"Miko, give the phone to Raf!" Jack ordered, "NOW!"

The girl frantically nodded before tossing the boy the phone. He quickly began to tell Biyomon how to create a ground bridge, but the process was a bit difficult with everything that was going on around them.

Such as when the road beneath the trio suddenly changed.

The road they had been running on lost its solid surface, with the asphalt road becoming soft and almost liquefied...until something reached up and tried to grab the teens. Skeletal undead arms doing the deed.

Miko screamed again. One of them almost grabbed her leg that time, tearing at her leggings.

"KEEP RUNNING!" Jack ordered, grabbing the two by their collars and pulling them forward.

"I know who this is," he wheezed, "These illusions, the darkness..." he tripped and hit the ground with a thud. Pain spiked up his arm but Jack ignored it. A shadow fell over the boy and he froze. Slowly, he turned around, feeling his bones creak ominously. Finally, he turned all the way around to see none other than…

"Devimon!"

Standing just a few feet behind the teens with half of his body still submerged in the road, stood the origin on both the dark feeling that was crawling up Jack's spine, and the horror's the teens were facing. His massive torn wings, the two horns on his head, his greasy pale skin, and the blood red symbol on his chest.

Devimon had made himself appear, laughing with his long arms extended in congratulations.

"So boy...you know of me?" he chuckled, "I'm flattered."

Jack glared at the demonic digimon, "I faced your ultimate form years ago. Myotismon. I kicked his butt."

Devimon's grin faded slightly, "And where are these skills now, boy?"

Jack twitched slightly. Without Guilmon...they were basically defenseless, and he knew that. Humans were fragile and weak compared to Digimon. And against a Digimon like Devimon…?

Devimon noticed the twitch and broke out in a fierce grin, "Oh, I will admit...Myotismon was far greater than I am in power. But the thing is about those who are lower on the ladder...they are far less full of themselves... And really...I don't need to be of his level to claim your lives..."

"After all..." he rose fully out of the ground and extended his unnaturally long arms. The fog that had started to cover the town thickened until the teens could barely see a few feet in front of them.

Devimon let out a horrifying laugh, "Humans are as low as they come!"

Jack tried getting up, only for a limb to drag him back down to the ground by his ankle. One of the many arms that had started to emerge from the street was grabbing and dragging him down.

Devimon laughed again, "Good luck getting back up, boy. You're mine now!"

Jack tried to struggle, but the more he struggled, the more Devimon pulled on him. He started dragging him along the twisted road he'd created, a large grin on his face. His fanged teeth were shining with wetness. He was hungry.

"I have seen your exploits boy...the courage, the shining light you seek to represent, "The dark Digimon crackled, reaching up with his left arm, which glowed with his unholy light, "A light...I seek to drown in the abyss..."

**-DEATH HAND!-**

A blast of darkness shot from his hands at Jack. Jack covered his face to ready himself for the blow. But nothing ever came, instead...

**-PYRO BLASTER!-**

A massive torment of fire suddenly flew over Jack, dispelling the dark Digimon's attack while also striking him dead in the chest.

"AGH!" Devimon screamed in pain, flying back onto the street with his chest burning due to the flames. In the meanwhile however, the monster's illusions vanished, freeing the teens.

With the arms gone, Jack shot to his feet and turned toward his savor, "Growlmon!"

The giant dragon Digimon stomped over and knelt down, "Are you okay?" he asked Jack quickly.

Jack nodded and patted his muzzle, "Yeah, thanks boy." he told him.

Growlmon smiled and hummed triumphantly while the other two Digimon came up to their partners, "Miko!"

"Raf!"

"Biyomon!"

"Gummymon!"

Both Raf and Miko hugged their partners as they jumped toward them, happy to see a familiar face after what they had been forced through. However, their touching reunion was cut short when they remembered who was there with them.

"Aw...touching."

Turning around, the two sets of trios glanced at the other side of the street where Devimon stood. He was unharmed besides the burn mark on his chest, and he did not look happy. He looked more annoyed in all honesty.

He crossed his long arms, "Perhaps now would be a perfect time to destroy you all! So you can die TOGETHER!"

**-DEATH HAND!-**

Growlmon stood in front of the group, and roared.

**-PYRO BLASTER!-**

The two attacks slammed into each other, both cancelling each other out. When the smoke cleared though, Devimon was gone! Nothing left but a pile of smoke. No trace of data.

"What!?" Jack yelped.

Growlmon looked around growling angrily, "Where did he go!?"

**-DEATH CLAW!-**

Growlmon went wide eyed and roared in pain. Devimon appeared behind him, slashing across his back, causing data to explode from the wound. Growlmon's tail lashed to the side, knocking the devilish creature into the street. Then he fell to his knees and slumped forward with a thud. His form shrank down to a battered Guilmon within seconds. Devimon had gotten in a well placed shot, and now their heavy hitter was out. A fact Jack barely registered.

"Guilmon!" Jack screamed, quickly rushing over toward his battered friend.

**-EVIL WING!-**

However, the teen's attempt was cut short when the ground that stood between him and Guilmon suddenly exploded, sending Jack flying backwards as a result. Groaning, the teen looked up at the cause of this, seeing Devimon with one of his wings extended.

"Afraid not." he chuckled, waving one of his long talon like fingers around like he was disciplining the teen.

"This little one has caused me a bit of pain...so I wish to cause him some..." he grinned before settling his eyes on Jack.

Then without warning, one of Devimon's arms shot out and grabbed Jack with a sinister crunch, "Perhaps by forcing him to watch me crush the life out of you!"

Jack gasped for air as Devimons hand crushed his chest. His grip was like iron, hard and uncompromising. Even breathing was a challenge for Jack, as Devimon slowly tightened his grip on the boy. An ominous cracking emanated from his chest and Jack let out a pained yell.

Guilmon struggled to his feet, trembling, "Jack!" he called weakly, and then his legs gave out.

Devimon laughed sadistically, "What's the matter boy? Feeling like a fish out of water!?"

**-SPIRAL TWISTER!-**

Devimon's hysterical laughter was cut short when the devil Digimon felt a twister of fire slam into his side. It didn't hurt, but it was a minor annoyance, something that stopped the Digimon from crushing Jack's rib cage.

Turning his head, Devimon glared at Biyomon. The birding having stopped just a few feet away from the massive Champion.

"Let him go!" she toward, her plumage was puffed out due to her anger. Intimidating for a human and similar level Digimon… Not so for Devimon.

Such a command just made the devil Digimon laugh even more however, "Oh really?!"

Biyomon suppressed a tremor of fear that ran up her spine ,"Yeah! Let him go!"

Devimon smirked and looked at the gasping Jack, "Okay," and then flung Jack across the street. He hit the nearest mailbox with a bone shattering crunch and fell onto the ground where he lay. He didn't move.

"Jack!" Raf and Miko sprinted over to the teen, only for Devimon to appear between them.

"Going somewhere children!?" he grabbed them both similar to how he did Jack. Their bones creaked as he tightened his grip and he laughed sadistically.

"Raf!" Gummymon yelped and then glared at Devimon, "Let him go you big bully!"

"Oh?" Devimon laughed even harder, "I'm a bully am I?"

Stomping over to the tiny little Digimon, Devimon towered over Gummymon like a skyscraper. And with his dark shadow, he covered the entire area with his mere presence. Biyomon let out a furious yell and charged the monster's side, but a mere flick of his wing smacked her to the ground. Raf and Miko groaned in his grip.

"Then you..." Devimon sneered, lifting up his massive boot and positioning it right above Gummyon,"...Are nothing but a insect!"

"Gummymon..." Raf whimpered in Devimon's grip, "...Run..." he begged.

"No way!" Gummymon shook his head furiously, "He doesn't scare me, and he won't hurt you!"

Devimon laughed, "Such bravado. I'll enjoy this." and brought his foot down.

Raf's eyes went wide with horror, "GUMMYMON!"

**- WARP DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!-**

The digivice on his belt suddenly flashed with light, blinding everyone present. Data streamed from the device and covered Gummymon in a bright green egg of data that swirled around him. Within, the Digimon felt his body suddenly increase in power.

**-GUMMYMN WARP DIGIVOLVE TO!-**

"WHAT!?" Devimon shouted in surprise, both he, Miko, Raf all being caught off guard by the sudden transformation.

Hell, Devimon was caught off guard so much that he even had to take a step backward to stop himself from falling. This however, also allowed for all three of them to get a good look at the transformed Digimon.

Instead of the tiny little gummy Digimon who had stood there before, now in Gummymon's place was a much larger creature.

Standing on two three clawed feet with a pair of jeans around his waist, the new Digimon appeared to be some strange rabbit creature with large floppy ears, a massive belt of bullets around his torso, and two Vulcan guns as his hands.

He raised up his Vulcan's, which spun wildly on his hands.

**-GARGOMON!-**

**D**evimon had dropped the two children in surprise, and Miko summed up the newly crowned Gargomon in typical Miko fashion, "Dude, that is bad ass."

"Alright tough guy!" Gargomon pointed his Vulcan guns at the demon digimon, "Why don't ya pick on someone yer own size!?"

Devimon's glared angrily at the Digimon, before it shifted into a smirk, "Oh? Who would that be then?" the devil Digimon laughed, "Because you are as small as those children... And provide as much of a threat as they do!"

-**DEATH HAND!-**

Narrowing his eyes, Gargomon quickly jumped out of the way as the dark energy slammed into the asphalt road. It tore into the pavement, leaving a massive hole where the Hunter Digimon had been standing.

But he wasn't there anymore. Instead, Gargomon hand jumped high into the air to avoid it. In fact, he was so high up that he was about eye level with Devimon. He leveled his Vulcan at the Digimon's face and steadied it with his other arm.

**-GARGO PELLETES!-**

A series of bullets shot from his Vulcans and pelted Devimon in the chest. The Digimon yowled in pain as he stumbled back, deep wounds covering his chest as he slowly stepped back. Like Growlmons Pyro Blaster, the Gargo Pellet's where more than strong enough to damage Devimon.

He snarled at Gargomon angrily and raised his clawed hands, "You little-!"

Gargomon landed on the ground and rushed forward, pulling one Vulcan back.

**-BUNNY PUMMEL!-**

And thrust it up into Devimon's stomach, unloading his Vulcan at the same time. Green bullets exploded against his stomach and the force of the blow made Devimon double over, the breath knocked out from the towering giant.

"GAGH!" Devimon screamed, "You...little... BRAT!"

Despite the tense situation, Gargomon smirked at that, "Ah, I'm a brat now? I thought I was a bug or something."

Hopping backwards, the Hunter Digimon just barely dodged out of the way of yet another one of Devimon's Death Claw attacks. While the devil's claws were slicing the ground up like butter though, Gargomon kept on the move, jumping around like a jack rabbit all over the street.

"Stand STILL!" Devimon roared again, firing yet another Death Hand at the gun toting rabbit.

Gargomon laughed at that, "But why? You just too slow to keep up?"

Roaring, Devimon crushed the building Gargomon had been on in retaliation. Rubble showered the two and smoke billowed out around them, blinding them both. But in the process, it left the Digimon open for yet another-

**-GARGO PELLETS-**

"STOP DOING THAT!" Devimon roared as he was pelted with bullets yet again. He raised his arms to protect his face. Gargomon fired away like a lunatic.

"Aw, what's the matter?" Gargomon taunted, "Can't take the heat!?"

His guns finally clicked empty and Gargomon began to reload. Smoke had engulfed Devimon, but his shadows was still there. He wasn't going nowhere. Guilmon and Biyomon struggled up to their feet and stood next to the champion level Digimon. In unison the three said.

"Then stay out of the kitchen!"

**-GARGO PELLETS!-**

**-PYRO SPHERE!-**

**-SPIRAL TWISTER!-**

The combined force of the two Rookie's attacks combined with Gargomon's, transforming his bullets into giant _flaming_ cannonballs.

With his eyes widening, Devimon had no chance to react to such an attack. Resulting in the explosive pellets slamming into the devil Digimon's torso, creating a massive explosion as a result and flinging the Digimon clear across the road.

"Or you'll get burned." Gargomon smirked, blowing off some of the steam from his hand.

Smoke engulfed the landing zone of Devimon, and a temporary lull engulfed the battlefield, "Did it work?" Biyomon asked hopefully.

The answer came when the slender form of Devimon staggered out from the rubble. His entire body was scarred and damaged, with his outline fizzing. He was on the verge of deletion at this point. He still managed to give a damning glare though.

"You...miserable...miscreants..." he growled.

"Ha! We don't know the meaning of the word!" Gargomon said confidently.

Guilmon leaned over, "What does miscreant mean?" he asked. Gargomon twitched but ignored it.

Devimon raised his clawed hand, "D-death..."

But he was interrupted before he could say a word. Not by Gargomon, but by the swirling green bridge that formed next to his battered body. A blue and pink motorcycle came screaming out of the bridge, with a green SUV and yellow Urbana 500 following in close pursuit.

"Wha...at?" Devimon growled in surprise, just barely able to speak due to his injuries.

Flaring his wings, Devimon ducked out of the way just before the trio of motorcycles and cars ran him over. However, he wasn't out of the woods yet. With a familiar sound echoing, the trio of cars quickly transformed into Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead. All three Autobots came to a stop right in front of the devil Digimon, with their weapons armed and aiming right at his scarred face.

Devimon twitched upon seeing the trio. He had hoped his illusions would have kept the bots busy for a bit longer. Seems his luck didn't really hold up all that well. A fact he was made painfully aware of by his injuries and the death glares he was getting.

Arcee in particular looked rather peeved, a sneer plastered over her faceplate. She spared a glance at Miko and Raf, "Where's Jack?" she asked.

Raf and Miko blinked before looking over at the mailbox were Jack lay gasping for air.

Arcee's optics went wide, "Jack!" she ran towards the boy, Guilmon, Raf, and Miko doing the same. Gargomon and the others kept their weapons focused on Devimon.

The femme fell to her knee's next to Jack, gently picking up the boy with careful tenderness. Arcee looked at him worryingly, "Jack..."

Sadistically and even perhaps realizing how screwed he was, Devimon laughed bitterly as he heard the boy gasp for a chance to breath.

"Aw...he's still breathing?" he chuckled, "I must not have squeezed him hard enough..."

**-BAM!-**

However, the devil Digimon was silenced when Gargomon blew off one of his remaining horns. The rabbit Digimon looked _very_ upset as he did so.

"Watch it hornless one, or I start aiming lower." he threatened. Devimon promptly shut his mouth for the moment.

"We need to get Jack to the hospital!" Arcee suddenly yelled, "He's hurt, bad!"

An evil smile crossed Devimons lips. He may not have gotten _all_ the children, but he got one of them in critical condition., "My masters will be pleased."

"What was that?!" Bulkhead demanded, trying to keep his attention on the threat in front of him.

Devimon waved off the Autobot's question, "Oh, it's nothing...nothing at all. Just commenting on how it sweet it will be when that boy struggles for one...last...breath...as he dies." he sadistically chuckled.

"Not gonna happen." Arcee growled, standing up with Jack in her arms.

She put a servo to her comm. while holding Jack with the other arm, "Ratchet we need a bridge."

Seconds later, a all new ground bridge swirled to life behind the Autobots and their companions. A small sigh of relief escaped Arcee's lips.

She turned to quickly enter the portal, but Bulkhead stopped her, "Hey! What do we do about this glitch head!?"

They couldn't just leave Devimon there, he wasn't Starscream. The Bots already knew that from the disturbing illusions he distracted them with. But they couldn't exactly execute him yet, not until they had all the information they needed.

"Bring him with us," Arcee growled, "Stasis cuffs should work well on him."

Bumblebee and Bulkhead looked at the weakened Digimon and then back to Arcee, "You sure that's the best id-"

"Yes!" she snapped at them, leaving no room for complaints objections, "Now MOVE!"

Wincing slightly the bots looked back at the grinning Digimon and shoved him along, all the while Gargomon kept his eyes trained on the devil Digimon at all times.

"I say we just delete him..." Gargomon muttered.

"But we might learn something from him if we keep him." Biyomon reasoned.

Guilmon agreed, "Maybe find out who sent him."

Gargomon crossed his arms, "I still say we just delete him."

Devimon let out a sickly chuckle as Bulkhead slapped a stasis cuff on his massive arms. His large clawed hands prevented him from slipping through them. Plus, they were designed to interfere with the neural pulses of an Decepticon nervous system. Which was basically just data. So they worked on Devimon with ease.

Gargomon glared at the demon Digimon while he spoke, "You may still get your chance little one..."

"...You may just get your chance..." he muttered as the bots shoved him along toward the bridge.

Gargomon growled and cocked his Vulcan's, "Don't tempt me bat boy..."

Miko leaned over to Raf, "Gummymon's a bit fiery now, ain't he?"

"He's always been like that," Raf replied. The little guy was a fiery temper if ever there was one. Raf had a feeling it was due in part to his size, and the fact that he was jealous of Biyomon digivolving before him. Or the digivolution had affected him somehow… He wasn't sure.

But there were more important things to focus on. Like the injured Jack in Arcee's arms. Guilmon trotted after Arcee as she carried Jack through the bridge, his ears flattened against his skull and his tail drooping.

Gargomon marched the injured Devimon through the bridge, much to his annoyance. Still, no one gave any shits about how annoyed the Digimon was. He not only caused the situation, but he hurt Jack in the first place. He was lucky that Arcee hadn't just said 'Shoot him and lets go', especially with what he did to her partner. Being a prisoner was a light punishment all things considered.

As soon as they entered the base, Arcee looked to Ratchet, "Call June, now!"

"Why, what happ-" Ratchet demanded, having no idea what had happened. But his optics widened when the bot noticed the condition Jack was in.

"What happened?!" he demanded, but Arcee quickly shook her helm.

"No time! Call June! Now!"

"On it," the medic said and returned his attention to the screen. Arcee rushed to the med bay and set Jack down on a gurney were he struggled to breath.

Optimus approached her once she'd set Jack down, "What happened?" he asked.

Arcee glared past him at the captured Devimon. Despite the enraged glances being sent his way, Devimon just grinned like the devil he was.

"Ah, admiring my handywork, huh?" he chuckled, "I hope to have entertained you both."

Gargomon shoved his Vulcan under the Digimons chin. Guilmon growled at him angrily, his eyes highly dilated and his ears on end. He was one step away from blasting the goon with a fireball.

"One more word mister and the head comes off!" Gargomon threatened, agreeing with Guilmon's mood.

Devimon may have been a sadistic SOB, but he was not stupid to test the rabbit with guns for hands. So with a small nod, the dark Digimon went quiet. This made Gargomon back off for a moment despite his want to delete the Champion where he stood.

Still, this did not save the devil from Optimus, who marched over to the Champion while Arcee stayed with Jack. And considering the glare she was giving him, that was for Devimon's own good.

"You would attack one of our human allies and attempt to kill them." Optimus growled in a dangerous tone, "Why? Who sent you, what is your purpose?"

Devimon just laughed, "Tell me, what do you see before you?" Devimon asked with a chuckle in his voice, "A creature such as myself? I am a agent of darkness, of evil...of the shadows that hide underneath everything in existence, digital or not... What other reason do I need but that?"

"You singled out three children out of a town of thousands." Optimus rumbled. His servo tightened and optics narrowed, "There is more to your motivation than meets the eye."

"To be frank, those children weren't...the first I took care of..." Devimon admitted without a hint of guilt. He thought back to the town he'd slaughtered with a grin.

"Oh? Then what were those illusions you distracted us with?!" Bulkhead demanded, remembering watching that monster fool them for quite a while with his illusions.

Despite the look he was getting, the Devimon didn't seem that intimidated. "Alright, you have me... I am serving a higher power," he admitted.

Then a devilish grin (No pun intended) spread across his face, "But who they are is something I cannot reveal. Surely you understand the importance of loyalty to your superiors."

A dark amount of satisfaction flashed across the Digimon's face when he saw the Prime's gaze tighten. If he'd known Optimus better, he might have realized the Prime was not angry or annoyed. Oh no, the flurry of emotions swirling around within Optimus were close to how he'd felt when Megatron nearly killed Raf. Devimon was lucky to be alive.

Bulkhead slammed his mace into his servo, "And what's to stop us from making you tell us!?" he demanded.

"Because I don't know my superiors by name." Devimon declared.

The bots looked at each other confusingly, and then scowled, "You cannot be serious?"

"Oh," Devimon chuckled, "But I am. Unlike most, I know just how important I am...and truth be told, I am...merely a lowly gear in my master's grand plan. And with such a grunt under your command...why would you tell them your name?"

"I mean honestly, only a fool would." Devimon smirked, "Sorry, didn't mean to offend."

The Autobots all glared daggers at the dark Digimon, something he reveled in. But, he didn't get the reaction he wanted out of the Prime.

Despite his rage, he stayed focused on what he wanted to know, "You still haven't told us, why."

"Pardon?"

"Why go through all this trouble to harm these three specific humans?" Optimus stated.

Devimon laughed again, "Why it's simple. They are the greatest threat to my masters plan!"

The bots looked on in confusion, "Look around this town, this world. How many humans...or children have Digimon under their command?"

There was a silent response. Devimon laughed louder, "Exactly! These three humans and their Digimon are all that stand in the way of my masters grand plan! Even you titans would fall before their power!"

"Oh, that a bunch of-" Ratchet scoffed, but Devimon's laughter cut him off.

"It's the truth! You've seen it already!" he laughed like the devil he was, "By mere illusions alone, I sent you all off on a false task, allowing myself to confront these children... And I...am nothing compared to my master's power...I am an insect to them."

"If they willed it, they could end my existence in a single blow." He grinned, "And had the boy's Digimon not been so distracted, he could have beaten me as well."

Guilmon growled at that, now joining Gargomon in wanting to blow that monster's face off...

"Truly, it was only my cunning that got me where I am...and really, do you all think you can do that much against all of those who are above me!?" Devimon went into full on evil laugh mode, "No I wouldn't think so!"

"They are the ultimate beings, far more powerful than you could ever hope to be! And they will wipe you off-"

**-BUNNY PUMMEL!-**

Gargomon's sprang upward and knocked his Vulcan fist into Devimon's chin. The Digimon fell on his back, out like a light. With his hand spinning like the revolver it was, the bunny Digimon growled at the devil Digimon. But upon looked back to the others, he shrugged at their shocked expressions.

"Oh, like you haven't wanted to do that for the last few minutes."

"Gargomon!" Raf scolded.

"What? He's not deleted, just out cold. I was gettin tired of his yappin!"

"I kind of agree with the rabbit on this one..." Bulkhead grumbled.

"See!" Gargomon smiled with success, "And we can question him later! No harm done!"

"Shhh." Arcee ordered, looking back to Jack. His breathing had slowed to a painful wheeze at this point.

She looked up at Ratchet, "Where's June?"

Ratchet sighed, "She should be here soon..."

When he caught June, she was still in the middle of work, so it would take her a bit of a while for her to arrive.

Arcee sighed and looked at her injured partner with a sad expression, "She better hurry..."

"Did you mention it was Jack?" Miko asked.

"Yes, I did." Ratchet nodded, "She is quite worried."

The medic could have sworn that she accidentally blew out one of his audio receptors when he explained the situation, "For now, we just need to keep him comfortable until she arrives."

Ratchet looked over at the wheezing Jack, "Elevate him." he ordered.

"What?"

"Elevate him," he repeated, "it should make it easier for him to breathe."

Following the medic's advice, Arcee gentle helped Jack up slightly while making sure she didn't it any worse. And as a result, Jack managed to calm his breathing down...slightly, but it wasn't anything to write home about.

His entire chest still hurt with every breath and he had a hard time maintaining his consciousness. Arcee looked at him worriedly, and silently pleaded for June to get to base as soon as possible...

_Later…_

The time till June arrived had moved along at a snail's pace, with nearly everyone looking on worryingly at Jack. Bulkhead and Gargomon made sure to keep an eye of Devimon just in case, but lucky the devil Digimon was out for the entire time.

Everyone else had watched Jack and the bridge with nervous anticipation. Ratchet knew more about human biology then before, but not enough to help with a potentially shattered torso… And the others were just worried for their friend. Guilmon lay by Jack's side the entire time, watching the shallow rise and fall of his chest…

Needless to say, everyone was relieved when the ground bridge burst to life and a familiar car could be heard. June nearly came screaming into base, her car actually parking on one of Devimons wings (No one told her to move) and with her immediately rushing to Jack's side with all her medical equipment.

"What happened!?" she demanded as she looked him over.

"Digimon attacked us." Raf explained. That was far as he got.

"What?!"

"It was the one who you just parked your car on." Bulkhead pointed over to Devimon, who was still flat on his back, nobody being home at the moment.

June gave one nod and then returned her attention to Jack, "I need to get him to a hospital. This isn't Dark Energon poisoning, these are fractured, maybe broken ribs."

She looked up at the bots, " If we don't hurry he could die!"

The bots looked amongst each other. Unlike last time, they couldn't really object to this. Back with Raf, it was something that only the bots had knowledge of. But this time? There was nothing they could do.

"Ratchet, open a bridge," Optimus ordered. The medic immediately got to work opening a bridge while Guilmon looked at his partner worriedly.

"Don't worry Guilmon," June patted his head, "I won't let anything happen to him."

"Okay..." the rookie muttered, his mood approving slightly. But he couldn't help but feel worried, and depressed for multiple reasons. Like allowing such a thing to happen at all... After all, he was Jack's partner. What kind of Digimon was he if he couldn't even protect his partner?

"Bridge is open Mrs. Darby." Ratchet said.

The nurse gave a nod, "Thank you Ratchet. I'll keep you all posted on Jack's condition." she then pushed Jack through the bridge and was gone. The others stared at the empty tunnel. Jack's fate was out of their hands now. All they could do was wait…and hope…

**A/N: Sorry for the late chapter guys, but you know, college. Anyway, seems like things have taken a turn for the worse for our heroes. The heavy hitters out for now, leaving the two rookies to protect Jasper from any future Digital incursions. Can Raf and Miko rise to the challenge? Find out on the next, Digital Resurgence!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Hacked

_Mid-Pacific…_

The lone vessel floated through the turbulent waves of the ocean, tossed about like a cork despite its large size and weight. Rain slashed through the air and pounded against the hull of the vessel, sending an echoing _'tick, tick, tick' _reverberating through the steel halls and structures. The ship climbed a large wave and then came crashing down, spraying ocean water everywhere.

Despite the storm that had engulfed the vessel but a day ago, it's inhabitants were hard at work within it's depths. They scurried about from computer terminal to terminal, trying to run a system that was outdated and frantically trying to get back to full power. Years of budget cuts were finally starting to show.

The fact of the matter was, their organization wasn't equipped for what was happening. They'd been given a small monetary sum to satisfy the man in charge and to act as a precautionary measure. But they were the only ones able to do anything against the changes that hit the world hard.

At least, that's what the blonde haired man thought as he walked through the rocking interior of the ship. Years ago, walking inside a hall that pitched and fell without warning would have left him in bed with a serious case of sea sickness. But those years aboard this vessel, the Datastream, had adjusted him to such movements.

Now it was only an annoyance that slowed him down while he tried to make his way to the center of the ship. A laptop was slung under his arm and he flipped open and closed the lighter in his hand repeatedly. His tinted glasses flashed in the uneasy light of the ship as another heavy wave hit them.

The entire hall suddenly twisted a good fifteen degree's sideways and the man fell against the wall with a clang. He cursed and readjusted his glasses, "A ship. We were put on a ship. An organization meant to protect the world from digital based threats."

His lighter flicked shut and his hand tightened around it, "I hate politics." he growled, and marched forward again.

Personal hatred for his superior's aside, the man had far more pressing matters on his mind. Such as the constant bio-emergence over the past few days. It had started with one in Nevada, followed by two more later that night, though far smaller. And then, another two had emerged within the same day, and had vanished just as quickly.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening. The bridge between the human world and the Digital World was growing once more. And it had all happened when Guilmon emerged and reunited with Jack.

The man finally reached the end of the hall, where an open door lead into the central dome of the ship. He walked in and found himself on a platform overlooking the operation once again, with a small steel table and large terminal sharing the space with him. But truthfully, he was paying it little mind. The reason he was there in the first place, was to connect to the mainframe.

He brought out the laptop and set it on the table, and used a USB to plug it into the system. The laptop pinged to life and he accessed the files he'd been looking for. It had been four years, his memory needed a reminder of the details.

The file opened and displayed the face of the person he was looking for. Jackson Robert Darby. The only human to successfully create and tame a Digimon. Thinking back, he remembered the boys stubbornness as a twelve year old and how hard he'd fought back against their organization. The boy was strong, that was for sure, and eventually proved he could be trusted. In hind sight, the man now realized how valuable Jack had been to them, and that the world as they knew it would have been destroyed by that monster Myotismon if it weren't for him and Guilmon.

And now Guilmon had come back and the duo had likely returned to what they did best. Fighting Digimon and sending them back where they came from. A small smile tugged at the man's lips. He was almost inclined to let Jack work on his own, but knew that wasn't a good idea.

Jack was a strong fighter, and a smart kid. But he was still a kid, even if he could probably drive by now. The fact was, he lacked the resources to handle the Digimon threat on his own. It may very well be time for him to offer Jack a position at Hy-

A sudden alarm rang out, cutting off the man's train of thought. He shot to his feet and was at the edge of the platform in seconds, gripping the rail hard until his knuckles turned white. The work stations below were a chaotic mess, technicians running around like their heads had been cut off.

"What is going on!?" the man demanded, keeping calm unlike his subordinates.

One of them stopped and looked up at him with a frantic look on his face, "Something's hacked our systems sir!"

"What!?" the man gripped the rail harder, "Who!?"

The technician gave a worried shrug, "We don't know. All we know is that it tore through our firewalls like they weren't even there!"

"What's it doing now!?" his superior demanded.

Another technician ran up and reported to the lead technician. He grew pale and looked back up at his superior, "It's stealing our files on the Digimon sir. All of them."

The man didn't waste a second when he heard that, "Shut the mainframe down, now! Skip the protocol, just shut it down!"

"How!? The hacker's taken complete control of the system!"

"Cut power to the entire damn boat if you have to! That's six years of research data it's trying to steal. We lose that we're finished!" the techy's started running around frantically, and began doing just that. Computers, terminals, anything with a hard drive was shut down or disconnected from the mainframe.

But they weren't fast enough. The man looked up in horror at the dome, where the holographic world was projected. The entire map was going dark, something was eating at it. Like a virus.

A sick dark laugh echoed through the room. A few technicians froze before their superiors ordered them forward. And all the while, the man in the sunglasses watched apprehensively as his hard work was torn apart. And then he remembered something.

"The laptop!" he cursed and ran back to it, frantically unplugging the device. The connection was severed and he looked at the screen.

There was no sign of the virus. The files were still intact and the laptop worked fine. The man let out a relieved sigh. That was one piece of good news in a sea of misfortune.

And then, suddenly, an explosion rocked the room and the entire ship went dark…

_Autobot HQ…_

Quite a while passed after June took Jack to the hospital, leaving the others in a even more tense period than before. No one could do anything to keep their attention off what might be going on with Jack, and if he'd survive the coming hours.

Guilmon and Arcee were worried in particular, with the Digimon barely able to stand still during it all. He was constantly on the move, endlessly thinking about how his partner was doing and if he was going to be okay. Although, that didn't mean Arcee wasn't worried too. She felt guilty for having fallen for Devimon's tricks and nearly getting Jack killed in the process.

Optimus had his arms crossed and a scowl was scrawled across his face. All the while he was glaring at Devimon in a way only Optimus could. The others were simply antsy, eager to find out if their friend was going to make it.

Hell, the only one who wasn't overly worried was Devimon...who was still out like a light. Gargomon had really done a number on the devilish Digimon. Though speaking of Gargomon, he finally degenerated as the night neared, bright white light surrounding him. Raf and the others watched with interest as the large rabbit like figure...

Shrank into a smaller rabbit like figure.

"Huh..." the little Digimon muttered, his voice having shrunk along with his body, "Done already?"

"...Gargomon?" Raf muttered.

The small rabbit-ish Digimon still looked like Gargomon slightly, but he was far smaller and simpler. He lacked the guns and bullets his previous form had, and his limbs looked far more stubby than the previous ones. He also no longer wore pants, but it didn't seem to bug him. He'd taken on a more pale white color, with the ends of his ears and stubby legs being a light green instead.

"I don't think so," he said, looking at his arms and legs, "I'm a bit shorter than I used to be."

"Not by much though." Miko giggled. The small Digimon glared at her, which only made Miko gush, "Oh, he's so adorable!"

The tiny Digimon huffed, his cheeks puffing out, "No I'm not..."

"Aw..." However, that wasn't helping the little Digimon in Miko's eyes. Hell, he was only proving her point.

The Digimon looked up at his partner,"Raf!" he whined.

Raf put his digivice away (Having scanned his Digimon to find out his new name) and picked up his partner, "Miko, stop teasing Terriermon."

Miko paused and raised a brow, "Terriermon?" she questioned, "That's the little guy's name?"

"Yep, that's his name." The little Digimon in question gave the teen a flustered little nod before finding a nice place to sit...which turned out to be his partner's head.

"Blagh, you really need a haircut Raf," Terriermon noted.

"I don't normally have a Digimon sitting on it," his partner shot back. Terriermon peaked over at him.

"Well, aren't you glad that changed buddy?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I'm still not getting a haircut." Raf laughed.

Terriermon shrugged, "Alright, makes a comfy seat anyway."

Raf shook his head with a smile, "Well, glad to see my head is comfy enough for you." The duo both laughed at that, livening the mood just a tad. It was an almost hollow laugh, but anything that distracted them from their worries was welcome by the group.

Bee let out a series of whirrs and beeps at the little Digimon. Terriermon shrugged, "I dunno, I just like it up here." he replied.

"Probably makes him feel tall." Miko snickered.

Biyomon looked at her tamer helplessly and sighed. Sometimes Miko just didn't know how to stop, "What am I going to do with you?"

"What was that Biyomon?" her tamer asked, not having heard her.

"Nothing..." she sighed, "It was nothing."

How Bulkhead had put up with her all this time, Biyomon would never know. Miko just shrugged and then looked over at the unconscious Devimon. There was a distinct tire mark on his wing from where June had done a slight burn out before taking Jack to the hospital.

"So what are we gonna do with tall dark and ugly?" she asked.

There was no immediate response. They could always just delete the Digimon. He didn't seem to be in the mood to talk anymore, so it was the easiest choice. But the bots weren't the type to just execute someone like that, even after what they had done. It wasn't something Optimus would allow, even if he himself wanted to make sure Devimon was no more. And with no other ideas of where to send the Digimon, the group was conflicted.

"I say we lock him up somewhere," Bulkhead suggested, slamming his fists together.

Terriermon hopped up on Raf's head, "I like that idea! Then we shine a big ol' light on em so he can't get away!"

"Terriermon!" Raf plucked him from his head.

"What?" the little Digimon blinked, "He can't do anything if he's stuck in the light..."

Raf sighed, "But we can't just lock him up somewhere."

"Why not?" the little Digimon asked, "We can't just let him go..."

Letting such a dangerous monster go was just asking for the same situation to happen again, only with even _worse_ results. The Digimon was simply too dangerous to let go.

"No, but..." Raf paused as he tried to come up with a viable come back. He had nothing.

"See!?" Terriermon pointed out, "It's the best way to deal with a big bully like that!"

Besides just outright deleting him, locking the dark Digimon up was the best idea that they had. This wasn't like a Con again or something. So Terriermon did have a point. Even if...well, Raf wished his partner didn't make it sound so...well, unsettling.

"Okay, you have a point..." Raf sighed, "Just... tone it down a notch, okay?"

He'd much rather have his partner be far less of a hot head and so gun-ho about all of that kind of stuff. Maybe it had to do with his previous form or something. Raf hoped so, because Terriermon was a bit too big for his britches at the moment.

"Oh..." Terriermon muttered, "Okay..."

"Yeah little guy, momentai." Even Miko agreed with Raf, Terriermon was a little_ too_ blood thirsty.

He looked at Miko curiously, "Momentai?"

"Means calm or slow down in Japanese." she explained.

"Hmm..." Terriermon tapped his chin (Still being held by Raf), and smiled, "I like the sound of that word! Momentai!"

"Heh, I do too. It kind of suits you actually." Raf laughed.

Although, he did give Miko a little warning look. For some reason, he had a feeling this was going to became a bit more than they could handle with the little Digimon. Still, if it got him to calm down a bit when it came to stuff like that...then it was better than nothing.

"Aw..." Miko gushed again, not being able to hold it back that time, "Raf's right! That totally fits you!"

Terriermon huffed and crossed his arms, grumbling angrily to himself. Raf sighed and pat him back on his head, giving Miko a 'seriously?' look.

She had no time to respond though, as June's voice crackled over the comm., interrupting her, _"Ratchet? Are you there?"_

Everyone's attention quickly snapped toward the medic, with Arcee and Guilmon taking the front seat.

"Yes, I'm here." Ratchet quickly answered, typing away at his computer so everyone could hear, "Do you have an update for us? Has something happened to Jack?"

_"He's going to live,"_ June said with a sigh of relief.

Unanimous cheering followed. The teens happily whooped, Terriermon hopped into the sky with a cheer, Biyomon smiled, and Guilmon slumped forward letting out a relieved sigh. The bots (Bulkhead and Bumblebee) cheered as well, while Arcee looked about ready to faint. This was great news, and really took a lot of stress off the team

_"But..."_

And like that, the cheering instantly silenced. Even a few of the Digimon stopped what they were doing instantly, like with Terriermon. Having jumped into the air in his excitement, he was now slowly gliding back to the ground with the use of his ears.

"But...?" Guilmon asked, not liking the sound of that.

"_His entire rib cage is either fractured or broken."_ June let out a shaky breath, _"It could be months before he's fully healed. He'll be bed ridden for days."_

From the bots to the Digimon, that wasn't what anyone wanted to hear. They were glad that Jack was going to be alright, but that wasn't what they were hoping for when it came to a possible outcome. Arcee let out a small gasp while Guilmon lowered his head, feeling terrible for his tamer. This had never happened before...not even last time he was around. Jack had suffered a few cuts and bruises last time, but this? This was too close. Way too close.

_"When the doctors clear him, I'm going to have him stay at the base,"_ June whispered, _"It'll be the safest place for him. In the meantime, he is awake and can take visitors..."_

"Really?"

Raf, Miko, and the Digimon all brightened up at that. And while Arcee was a bit down-ridden that she couldn't visit her partner herself, she was at least glad that she would be able to look after him more often now.

The main reason this had all happened was because they had been off on that mission without even telling the kids. But now that he would be staying with them for the moment, the bots could do a much better job watching over him than they could while he was at home. And Arcee (Like Guilmon) had no intention of letting the teen out of her sight anytime soon. Once he was in base of course.

_"Yes, really." _June confirmed, _"Just be careful. He's still recovering…"_

Immediately Miko clapped her hands together, getting everyone's attention, "So, who wants to see Jack first?"

_Jasper Medical Hospital…_

Jack lay in his hospital bed, breathing slowly and painfully, with green sheets covering most of his body. The room itself was a stark white with next to no color save his sheets. A few wires were hooked up to Jack to monitor his vitals, but that was about it.

After being brought in by his mother the doctors had quickly worked on making sure his ribs wouldn't pierce a lung or kill him on accident. His entire torso was wrapped in a cast at the moment and he wasn't doing a lot of moving in general.

He'd also lost his favorite shirts, as they'd cut them open so they could work without fear f moving his ribs around on accident. his pants and shoes lay on a nearby chair for when he was inevitably cleared to return home.

But as he listened to the steady _'beep, beep' _of the heart rate monitor he was hooked up to, Jack decided he was okay with waiting. He was tired, oh so tired from his encounter with Devimon. He was fighting hard to stay awake at the moment, only because he'd been promised visits from the others. It would be a little rude if he was asleep when they finally showed up…

So he lay there, struggling to remain conscious. His eyelids were growing heavy, and Jack was about to lose his battle, when the door to his room opened. He looked at it tiredly and saw June peak her head in. Her face was tired and ragged, with her ponytail an utter mess. Her black hair was splayed everywhere, but she let out a relieved smile when she saw Jack was still awake.

"Hey sweetie, how're you holding up?" she asked softly.

Jack gave the weakest of smiles, "I've been better…" and that was the truth. His entire chest was still sore and anything more than shallow breaths hurt like hell. He'd live, but it wasn't going to be a comfortable existence…

June gave a small nod, "Are you up for visitors?"

His smile grew a little larger, "I think I can manage…" he murmured.

The door opened and June stood to the side, letting Miko and Raf walk on in. Terriermon was wrapped around Miko's back, looking like an exotic backpack of sorts. But the oddest thing about the two was the large box that they carried next to them.

Despite how much it hurt, Jack laughed a little, "So Guilmon tagged along huh?"

June smiled and shut the door, giving the group some privacy. The moment it clicked shut, Guilmon's large red head popped out from inside the box with a gasp. He shook his head for a moment before looking at Jack with his head cocked to the side.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked innocently.

Jack chuckled at his friends innocence, "It's not…the first time you've hidden in a box…Guilmon…"

During his first few days of living, Guilmon had been rather impatient waiting for Jack to get back from school. So he'd followed the teen to school… In a giant card board box. Needless to say, the results had lead to a lot of screaming, panicking, and tears. Everything had worked out in the end, but Jack had been scared silly by Guilmon's antics and had gotten the dino Digimon to agree to waiting for Jack to return from his house.

Seeing the guy in another box just brought back memories from the teen though. Ah nostalgia was a wonderful thing sometimes.

Guilmon pushed the box on its edge and trotted forward, resting his big square shaped head next to Jack, "I'm sorry I didn't beat Devimon Jack. I'll try harder next time."

"Aw…" Miko silently gushed as the Tamer and his Digimon had a 'moment'.

Jack just slowly scratched Guilmon behind his ears, "It's alright boy. It was my fault too. We were a little over confident. But we'll figure it out."

Guilmon's ears perked up, "Okay!"

Jack smiled and looked at his friends, "Are you guys alright?"

Terriermon hopped off of Miko and landed on Raf's shoulder. His large ear wrapped around the boys forehead and he leaned off to the side, "Are we alright? You're the one who was turned into a bag of gravel!"

"Terriermon!" Raf yelled, mortified.

"What?" the little guy asked innocently.

Surprisingly, Jack managed a weak laugh, "It's fine Raf… I did feel like a bag of gravel after Devimon attacked us…" his eyes narrowed, "What happened to him anyway?"

"I kicked his butt!" Terriermon hopped onto Raf's head, "Digivolved to Gargomon and pummeled him. With help."

Guilmon just shrugged. He didn't really want credit for the kill, because it wouldn't have mattered if Jack got killed in the process. The fact that Jack survived was a win for him. Terriermon nodded and plopped down on Raf's head.

Jack chuckled a little, and then looked at Raf, "So… Devimon is…?"

"Prisoner for now." Raf explained, "We weren't going to execute him, and we figured we might learn something valuable from him."

The Digimon had been pretty hostile for a while and grown very close to being killed by one of the bots in anger. Something told Raf that he wanted them to delete him. Keeping him prisoner was not what he'd been hoping for, hence why they did it.

"Alright…" Jack murmured. It was good to know the Digimon had been beaten, but he'd ambushed them too easily. Back when he'd been a Tamer, most Digimon didn't come after him. They just emerged in or near Jasper due to Guilmon's presence and his own. They didn't actively seek him out, but they were drawn to him. But this gave Jack plenty of time to prepare.

Obviously that wasn't going to work this time, as the Digimon seemed to be actively coming after them this time. Which meant one thing, and one thing only for Jack.

"We need to get a plan established." he declared.

Miko and Raf blinked, "What?"

"In case another Digimon comes after us." Jack explained, "We need to get a plan in place so no one else gets hurt."

The two looked at each other. Terriermon shrugged, "Have fun with that." and hopped off Raf and landed next to Guilmon. The two Digimon wandered off to the side of the room and began playing together.

Raf and Jack watched with faint smiles before getting back on track, "So exactly what did you have in mind?" Raf asked.

Jack slowly propped himself up, ignoring the protests of his battered body. He jerked his head at his pants, "I have some cards in there. Get them out."

"What? Why?"

"Because," Jack explained, "The cards can make or break a battle. Trust me on this."

Raf and Miko looked at each other before the latter shrugged and walked over to Jack's pants and fished out the cards. She came back and handed them to the teen. He gave her a thankful nod and spread them out on his sheet.

"Now, the first thing you need to know…"

**A/N: A short chapter just meant to move the plot along a little. Still, Jack made it out, Devimon is the Autobot's prisoner, and the mysterious ship seems to be suffering problems of its own. What'll come of this? Find out on the next, Digital Resurgence! **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Dam Attacks

_Autobot HQ, Two Weeks Later…_

"So, got any threes?"

A very tiring two weeks had slowly passed since the sudden attack by the devil Digimon known as Devimon, and Team Prime was still feeling the effects from the attack even in the present. As June had told the others, Jack's condition was quite dire, and having him stay at the base had been a bit of a hard thing to get used to for everyone. But as the days had passed and Jack's condition slowly improved, things slowly began to return to normal. For the most part.

The bots were on near constant watch for any other Digimon attacks, and Jack slowly got used to his condition as his wounds slowly healed. But with Arcee and Guilmon almost always there for him along with his mother, friends, and the others, things eventually started to settle down. As much as they could anyway.

Jack still had his issues. Mainly that the cast he wore under his shirt and over his torso made it next to impossible for him to breath. So he couldn't really do anything strenuous, meaning that if a Digimon _d__id_ show up, he was pretty much restricted to base much to his disappointment.

But still, Jack tried to ignore it as he and the others (Digimon and several bots included) had been talked into a game of go fish by Biyomon. She'd seen Miko's family playing the game, while disguising herself as a large stuffed doll, and wanted to play it at base to pass the time.

For the most part everyone got it... Well except Guilmon and Terriermon. The former just wasn't very good at the game, while Terriermon? Well he was holding his cards the wrong way... hard to tell if he was kidding or not honestly.

"I've got bingo!" Terriermon suddenly yelled.

Raf sighed, "That's the wrong game Terriermon."

The little Digimon tilted his head to the side slightly, "What do you mean?"

Bumblebee (who had just barely managed to hold his cards with one of his fingers and his thumb) beeped slightly and shook his helm. Some of the group were even a bit confused on how the Digimon even _knew_ what 'bingo' meant when they were playing Go Fish.

"You don't say 'bingo in go fish," Raf tried to explain, "That's a different game."

"But I thought they were the same thing!" Terriermon protested.

"No, in Go Fish someone asks for your card and if you have it you give it to them. Then they set both cards down. First one to get rid of all their cards wins." Raf explained the game best he could to the Digimon.

Terriermon looked at his cards, "Oh..."

And then tossed them all at Miko. They were all three's. Everyone's jaws (at least, if they had jaws) dropped upon seeing that. They knew he had a three...but they didn't know _all_ of his cards were threes!

"...So, do I win?" Terriermon asked with big twinkling eyes.

Well...they had to admit, he had gotten rid of all of his cards. Just...not in the way he was meant to.

"I... guess so..." Raf admitted.

"How did you get all threes?" Jack demanded, lowering his cards for a moment. He'd been losing all game because of that little guy!

Terriermon just shrugged, "I dunno. Just did. So do I win?"

Jack sighed and dropped his cards in a pile, "Yeah...I guess so. There isn't a rule against that...I think."

After all, Jack couldn't remember there ever being a moment where someone had run Go Fish when they had a entire hand of the same cards. It just didn't happen. But somehow Terriermon had managed it. The little guy always seemed lucky, something Jack silently attributed to the fact that he looked like a rabbit, what with his big ears and such.

"Yay!" Terriermon whooped, his ears puffing into the air while he did a little victory dance.

Shaking his head, Jack then turned his attention to his partner, "So, what did you have Guilmon?"

"Nothing good." the dino whined, showing Jack his cards. The red Digimon had a few normal cards, but he also had the Joker card...and the one card that had all the instructions printed on it too.

Jack raised a brow, "I thought that cards was removed from the game?"

Guilmon cocked his head to the side, "Huh?"

"The Joker, it's not supposed to be in game. No wonder you didn't have anything good buddy." Jack smiled reassuringly at his partner.

"Oh." Guilmon looked at the card in confusion, "It's not?"

"Nope, and what is this doing here?" Jack plucked the instruction card from his partner's hand, "I thought we got rid of this one?"

Guilmon shrugged, "I found it on the ground. I thought someone dropped it."

Jack shook his head and patted Guilmon on his head, "Oh Guilmon. What am I going to do with you?"

"Feed me?" he asked hopefully.

The teen looked confusingly at the Digimon, "But didn't you eat before we started the game?"

"Yeah..." Guilmon looked away, looking at his tail instead of Jack, "...but it wasn't that much..."

"It was an entire loaf of bread." Jack deadpanned. They'd seen the red Digimon swallow the loaf in one bite.

Hesitating a moment or two, Guilmon looked at his tamer with a pout (something he pulled off quite well), "Please?"

Jack closed his eyes and proceeded to slap his hand to his forehead, "Fine, here." he said, pulling another loaf from his hidden bag.

"Yay!" Guilmon cheered and began chewing on the bread. Arcee raised an optic ridge at the display.

Jack smiled at her sheepishly, "When your partnered with Guilmon, it pays to carry some bread with you at all times," he explained.

"Apparently..." Arcee smirked, putting her own cards down. She wasn't doing too bad in the game but she was a bit surprised when the little Digimon won...again. The femme was starting to wonder if Terriermon was just playing...well, not dumb by clueless.

"So," Jack addressed the others while his digi partner ate, "What do you guys want to do now?"

With Terriermon cleaning house, cards didn't seem like a good idea anymore, "Well-" Miko started.

"No, no more heavy metal!" Jack yelled immediately. A bit of a mistake as pain shot up his side. He grimaced and clutched at the cast for a moment and taking a few short breaths to calm himself down. In a few seconds, he was back to normal and focused on Miko. He waved off the other's concern and gesture for her to continue.

Miko crossed her arms, "I was going to suggest we go over battle strategies. You know, for when we encounter the next Digimon?"

"Oh..." Jack muttered, "Okay...that works."

Ever since Miko and Raf had come to visit Jack in the hospital, they had begun formulating plans in case another Digimon showed up. They knew someone was targeting them, and they had prepared accordingly. Jack had explained how the card game worked and what effects the cards had, and then they'd had help from the bots in creating emergency plans if any one of them was attacked.

And so far, such plans had gone on rather well...for the most part. The kids hadn't encountered anything big since Devimon. The largest Digimon since then being a mere Rookie. And he'd been rather easy for Gargomon to handle. Jack dreaded when more powerful Digimon started coming through. At least, for Miko and Raf's sake. Gargomon might be able to hold his own, but if it was more than one, or a level higher then Champion…

Jack shook his head and focused on the group before him, "Alright, what first?"

Raf reached into his backpack and pulled out a small notepad, "We covered what might happen if a Digimon attacks the school while we're there already, right?"

Since that had been the first time a Digimon had attacked when it came to Raf or Miko, Jack insisted that that was the first thing they covered. After all, Miko had gotten lucky that she had been able to contact Jack in time.

"Yes!" Miko groaned, "We already covered that fifteen times..."

"Better safe than sorry." Jack reminded her with a deadpan voice.

Miko and Biyomon winced, "Low blow dude."

"Guys, come on." Terriermon floated down and landed right on Raf's head, "Momentai!"

Both bots just stared at the little Digimon. They still had no idea what that meant… He just started saying it one day for some reason. Neither of them knew Miko had something to do with it, but that wouldn't surprise them.

Jack smirked at that, "See? Terriermon has the right idea. And besides, with all the times we've gone over it, you two surely have memorized that by now...right?"

"Point there." Raf agreed. Terriermon landed on his head and nodded too.

"So why are we going over it again?" Miko demanded, obviously annoyed.

Jack shrugged, "Practice makes perfect?"

With Biyomon sighing while her tamer huffed in annoyance, Jack turned to Raf while Arcee and Bumblebee watched, "So Raf, were do we begin again?"

"Alright, here's the basic plan," he looked at Miko and Biyomon.

Miko shrugged, "I'm listening, I'm listening." she sighed.

With that out of the way, Raf continued, "During school hours, one of you," he pointed at the Digimon and patted Terriermon on the head, "Will watch the terminals in case something comes up."

"I understand." Biyomon nodded while Guilmon and Terriermon gave the preteen a nod as well.

Along with watching for anything strange happening, the bots had also managed to set up a rough type of detector for any electronic disturbances that might be related to Digimon, or Bio-Emerging as Jack called it. It wasn't full proof since no one really understood the digital realm, but it was effective when it came to detecting when a Digimon was arriving.

"And in case you do see something does come up, you instantly contact us, no matter what, right?"

"Even during class?" Biyomon asked nervously.

Miko and the others had been quite upset over the fact that they still had to go to school. Well, Raf and Miko. Jack had yet to return to school yet due to his injuries.

"Especially then." Jack said, "It's too dangerous to let a Digimon wander free like that."

The others couldn't deny that, especially after they found out what Devimon had meant when he said that the kids weren't the first people he targeted. An entire town...everyone dead overnight. The event had somehow been covered up before it became big news, but they all knew about the dozens of people dead…

Getting in trouble at school was a small price to pay when another Digimon, especially if it was more powerful than Devimon, was free to roam the world. There was no imagining what chaos could be unleashed then.

"Alright," Biyomon and the others nodded.

"Now," Jack looked at his own note pad, "Digivolving. You all need to know how to do it effectively, and what to do if you can't."

While Raf and Terriermon had managed to digivolve into Gargomon, Miko and Biyomon still hadn't been able to do the same. And since Gargomon had only been triggered when Gummymon had nearly been deleted, Jack needed to be sure that they knew how to do this effectively. At least until Jack and Guilmon were back in action at least.

"Okay, and how do we digivolve?" Miko asked eagerly. Biyomon had yet to digivolve to Champion yet, and Miko was eager to see the transformation

Jack raised a brow at her eagerness before sighing, "The first time is the hardest Miko." he admitted, "Because the first time can only be achieved if you or your partner is in extreme danger."

"What? Seriously?" Miko asked, her eagerness dying down slightly.

"But didn't we already do that? That is how I digivolved into Biyomon." The bird Digimon pointed out. She had only digivolved when Miko was about to get killed by Dokunemon. Didn't that count for that little stipulation?

Jack nodded, "True, but evolving past Rookie level is even more difficult. It takes time and incredible danger. Ultimate is next to impossible and if you can bio-merge..." Jack sighed, "It's a long ways away."

Miko pouted, "Darn." she whined.

Jack sighed, she still had that little issue with patience...at least Biyomon was better at that to a degree. Miko had started to mellow out, around Biyomon at least, and seemed to think things through a little more. When it came to Digimon anyway.

"Still," Jack caught the girl's attention, "It's possible, and for that to be even possible, you need to be able to freely got to Champion level."

He then turned his attention to Raf and Terriermon, "And how has it been going for you two?"

The two exchanged looks, "We've had... some progress..."

That didn't sound good, "Define 'some'." Jack sighed.

Raf sighed while Terriermon hid his face with his ears, "We can digivolve more freely than before...but we've hit some snags at some points."

"Snags?" Jack didn't like that. Snags were never good, snags lead to trouble, and trouble lead to people getting hurt.

Raf explained,"Terriermon has some... issues keeping the power under control."

Jack raised a brow again. The little bunny Digimon hid himself even more. He...was a bit ashamed.

"Well, Miko...do you remember how eager Gargomon was to just delete Devimon after we beat him?"

Miko nodded, "Yeah..."

"Well, imagine that...but ten times worse..."

"...You're kidding..." Miko nearly whimpered.

Terriermon wrapped himself up in his ears and let out an ashamed moan. Raf picked him off his head and held him in his lap, "It's not his fault, just a lot of power to deal with is all..."

Raf then looked down at Terriermon, who was whimpering slightly. The boy frowned at that, and gave the Digimon a hug to calm him down. Watching as the boy hug his little partner, Jack thought about their problem a bit. He quickly came up with a possible answer.

"That could be the case." he said while patting Guilmon on the head, "When Guilmon digivolved into Growlmon the first few times, he was a bit too aggressive too. It's just something you'll have to work on."

But I mean..." Raf looked a little worried.

"Trust me, it takes time. Nothing but battle will help him learn to control it." Jack assured him.

Bulkhead actually nodded in agreement, having paid attention to the kids planning from the side lines. He wasn't a fan of letting the kids fight Digimon, but he also knew that Digimon were arguably more dangerous than the cons, save Megatron. Fact was, they weren't equipped to fight them. Weapons from the real world barely effected them for one reason or another, and so the three tamers were the best choice for the job.

And even if Bulkhead didn't like it, he was going to try and help the best he could, "Jack's right. The more veteran a warrior, the cooler a head they keep."

Terriermon perked up, "Really?"

"Yeah," Arcee nodded as well, "Bulkhead might be a wrecker, but he is much calmer than he was a few cycles ago. It just took some experience and some time to get settled into the fight before he calmed down into the big guy we know."

"Yeah...HEY!" the wrecker grumbled, realizing he had been poked fun at.

Still, Arcee ignored that, "Point is, You shouldn't be ashamed for it. Everyone has that time where they're...just not ready for it. Terriermon's really only a few weeks old-"

"Hey!" the Rookie yelled indignantly

"-So it'll take some time for him to get used to it." Arcee finished with a smirk.

Raf looked at the two bots and then back at Terriermon, who was pouting slightly at the poke towards his age. These were warriors who had several years of constant fighting under their belts, so they_ knew _what they were talking about. And knowing Gargomon would mellow out did wonders for Raf's concerns.

"Alright..." Raf nodded, "You get it too, Terriermon?"

Terriermon sighed and nodded, "Yeah... I got it."

"Hey, you'll get it eventually." Raf said encouragingly.

Terriermon perked up slightly, when an alarm suddenly rang through the base, "Cons!?"

Ratchet scowled at the terminal, "No. Digimon."

Everyone quickly snapped to attention, with Miko and Raf along with the Digimon rushing over toward Ratchet's console. Jack too tried to get up out of a force of habit, but a stern look from Arcee stopped him in his tracks. The teen was still too injured to do anything too strenuous, and he could hear well from his current position.

"Scrap..." Jack mumbled, sitting back in his seat.

"Good boy." Arcee praised and walked up to the terminal.

Jack crossed his arms and grumbled to himself while Guilmon put a comforting claw on his shoulder, "Don't feel bad Jack, we'll be back in action before we know it!"

"Yeah..." Jack grumbled, "Just getting real tired of getting sidelined again."

It was like back when they were dealing with just Decepticons. Only, at least back then…there was nothing he could do on a daily basis. Now? Jack and Guilmon were the best trained for something like this...and they were stuck sitting out!

His hands tightened, "Damn Devimon..." he grumbled to himself angrily.

Had it not been for that demon, things would have turned out a lot differently. Any other type of champion Digimon and they could have handled it! Ogremon, Centarumon, Meramon, or even a damn Mojyamon! Any Champion like that, and things would have been no problem.

They just had to get one of the few illusion based, sadistic Digimon. And he'd gotten side swiped because of it. Oh how he'd make Devimon's masters pay when the time came. But for now he had to stay at base and recover. Even if he hated every second of it.

"It's by the Hoover Dam!" Raf yelped.

"Seriously?" Miko demanded with a sigh.

But despite the girl's annoyance, the trio could in fact see a disturbance all over Ratchet's console. And it was all focused at the Hoover Dam for some reason.

"Seems so..." Ratchet mused, "But why?"

All the Digimon they had seen so far had spawned fairly close by...so why was this Digimon so far away in comparison?

"Probably a sea based Digimon." Jack muttered loud enough for them to hear.

The others looked back at the teen, "Large body of water would be perfect for a Seadramon."

"Seadramon?"

Jack tried not to sigh, "Think of a giant water snake, like a dragon made for the sea. It's the best way to describe one."

The teen then looked at the console in worry, "But if they're sending one of them...that likely means they're hoping we're not watching..."

"Wanna prove them wrong?" Miko asked confidently.

"Be careful." Jack warned, ignoring Miko's overconfidence, "If it is a Seadramon, he'll be a champion level."

Jack looked at Raf and Terriermon, "It'll be up to you two to deal with him while Miko and Biyomon provide support, got it?"

Raf and Terriermon gave determined nods while Arcee crossed her arms, "And what do the three of us do, oh so fearless leader?" she quipped. Optimus was out on solo patrol, and it seemed that Jack had unintentionally taken over as leader. When he knew his stuff, the lad was quick to take charge.

Jack winced a tad and turned to look at the trio of Autobots. He had...almost forgotten about them. After all, he was used to just Digimon battling Digimon, not Autobots.

"Well...I..." he mumbled, "I...don't suppose you'd be fine with staying here, will you?"

Bulkhead slammed his hands together, Bumblebee swung his fists, and Arcee just raised a brow at the teen, "What do you think?"

The injured teen sighed, "Yeah...that's what I thought."

"We'll provide support best we can," Arcee declared, "Evacuate civilians if we need to. Giant sea monsters aren't exactly are expertise you know." oh they'd get in a few pot shots, but unless they could specifically provide support, it was best they let Gargomon handle the Digimon.

Jack smiled and gave a nod, "Sounds good. You all ready?"

"Ready!" was the unanimous response from the tamers and their Digimon. The bots just gave nods.

"Activating bridge." Ratchet declared,

Moments later, the familiar sight of a ground bridge sprung to life, revealing the way for the the group. And with the humans and Digimon getting into the vehicle forms of their Autobot companions, the two humans, two Digimon, and three Autobots quickly rushed through the portal. Leaving Jack, Guilmon, and Ratchet behind.

Jack sighed as they left. They could handle this, they'd handled Devimon by themselves... Whatever this Digimon was... if it wasn't Seadramon, they could handle it. Jack had faith in his friends…

_Hoover Dam…_

The Ground Bridge opened in a flash, the green portal appearing at the edge of the dams top. This gave the Autobots plenty of room to drive out from, and keeping them away from any civilians that might have spotted them. Still, as the three vehicles departed from the bridge, they also came to a stop suddenly.

Before they released the children and their Digimon, the bots made sure to look around for the moment, to make sure that they weren't just tossing the kids into a dangerous situation right off the back. Luckily though, everything seemed peaceful...for the moment.There was a thick fog covering the area, making it a little hard to see, but nothing the kids and the bots couldn't handle. The only real sign of anything being wrong was how…quiet it was. The dam was normally a bustling tourist trap, but the area was abandoned and many cars had stopped at the edge of the fog. Their outlines barely visible to the bots or humans.

"Alright, out ya go." Bulkhead said, opening his door for Biyomon and Miko. Bee did the same for Raf and Terriermon.

The two tamers looked around confused, "Alright, we're here... Where's the Digimon?" They looked over at the water on held back by the dam. Millions upon millions of gallons. The perfect place for a Seadromon to emerge. But surprisingly, no sea serpent rose from the water.

Instead, their answer came in the sound of a bird screeching and a red and brown blur shooting by overhead. It looked like a bright red bald eagle, only about Arcee's size with two large horns jutting from its skull. Miko scanned it with her Digivice as it began circling above them.

"Aquilamon. A Giant Bird Digimon with two gigantic horns growing from its head. It is called the "Great Eagle of the Desert", and as it flies through the sky at Mach speed, it possesses the eye strength to locate the opponent from a very great distance. The horns on its head, when it glides from a great height and charges the opponent, exhibit an immense might."

She clipped her digivice to her belt and whistled "Wow..." she muttered, "Jack was a bit off with his estimation..."

He thought it was going to be a water Digimon, but instead they got a giant bird. Although, just seeing Aquilamon made Miko wonder if Biyomon was going to digivolve into something like that whenever her time came.Raf though? He had a different thought.

"How are we going to fight that!?" he yelped. Terriermon hopped down from his shoulder.

"Momentai Raf. Just digivolve me and I can roast bird boy!"

"You sure?" Raf asked. He knew his Digimon was a good shot, but could he really hit something that could fly at Mach speed.

Terriermon gave the boy a thumbs up despite his worry, "Yep, let's do this!"

With a bit of the Digimon's confidence rubbing off on him, Raf nodded and pulled out his own digivice, "Alright! Let's go!"

**-DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!-**

Familiar bits of code and data covered the little guy and formed a bright green egg over him., His skin almost seemed to peel off to reveal a wire frame underneath it.

**-TERRIERMON DIGIVOLVE TOO!-**

New thicker skin formed melted over it, while large machine guns attached themselves to his hands. A pair of jeans suddenly appeared on his waist from nowhere, and the now larger Digimon swung a belt of rounds around his chest and declared his name.

**-GARGOMON!-**

Landing back on the ground with his belt flowing in the wind, Gargomon spun his revolver-like arms around and looked up to the sky.

"Alrighty then!" he grinned, "Let's do this bird brain!"

High above them though, Aquilamon just glared down at the Digimon and the Autobots from its position in the sky. Gargomon raised his Vulcan's at Aquilamon and quickly put the bird in his sights.

**-GARGO PELLETS!-**

Green rounds whizzed by and at the Digimon, pelting its thick feathered hide. Aquilamon squawked and started banking the side, circling the group. His wings folded back against his body and he began to rapidly descend.

**-GRAND HORN!-**

With a sudden boom following in its wake, the massive Digimon rushed through the air. As it did this however, sparks suddenly started to erupt from the giant bird's horns, flickering through the air for a few seconds before… a bolt of lightning suddenly exploded in the air, striking the ground in an instant that nearly fried Gargomon if he wasn't more careful.

"Whoa!" the hunter Digimon yelped, "That nearly fried my ears!"

"Be careful Gargomon!" Raf warned. That was too close, the area where Gargomon had been was reduced to a large crater in the ground. One wrong move and he was toast.

The bunny like Digimon danced about and he fired at Aquilamon, "I know, I know!"

While this was going on, Miko ran up to the bots, "Can you guys try evacuate the dam? Something tells me this is gonna get ugly."

Taking a moment to look up at the bird, the Autobots gave the girl a nod, "Right, good point."

Instead of fighting something that would likely stay in the water, the team was up against something that could move around at a speed that the bots weren't sure they could shoot at. And unless the bird landed on the ground, there was a good chance they would be of no help otherwise. Everytime they fought air based cons, they were always forced on the retreat. There was no other way to put it, they couldn't stand up against flyers.

Arcee looked at her two companions and gestured them forward, "Let's get going!"

"Right!" and the three started forward to evacuate the dam, transforming as they did. This left Biyomon, Gargomon, and their Tamers to deal with Aquilamon. Raf backed up to Miko with a nervous expression.

"What do I do!?" he yelped as the giant bird almost crashed into them as it dove by. The air pressure alone buffeted the group, nearly knocking them backwards.

"Um..." Miko mumbled, not so sure herself. Gargomon was doing a good job with dodging the bird's attacks, but he couldn't keep this up forever. Eventually, he would have grown tired or slipped up, leading toward...

_'No!'_ Miko refused to think about that, they needed a way to fight that monster on even ground since Gargomon couldn't hit it as it moved at top speed.She looked at Biyomon and the bird Digimon nodded.

Aquilamon came back for another pot shot at Gargomon, when-

**-SPIRAL TWISTER!-**

Biyomon's attack knocked him off course. He skimmed the water, squawking angrily as he did, before taking back into the sky.Biyomon, who had taken to the air slightly, watched in both anticipation and fear. Anticipation so she could dodge whatever was thrown at her next, and fear because...

**-PENATRATOR!-**

..She was afraid she wouldn't be able to dodge it in time, which she just barely did when Aquilamon slammed into the dam with his horns.Cracks spread from the impact and the dam shook. Biyomon yelped and fell back on her feathered rump.

Miko cursed, and Raf?

"Gargomon, take him out now!"

The bunny saluted, "Roger!"

Grunting, Aquilamon quickly got to work with pulling his horns out from the dam's surface. But to his irritation, the stone dam was much harder than he had suspected. As such, it would take him a few moments for him to free himself.

But he did not have these moments, as just as the Digimon began to pull, he saw a small flash appear to his side. It was Gargomon, having jumped off the dam's surface to give him a boost...and now he was right next to Aquilamon's face...

**-GARGO PELLETS!-**

Aquilamon squawked and screamed as the green lights slammed into his skull. However, this did not delete Aquilamon. Instead, his horns shattered, freeing the Digimon. And in one powerful thrust of his wings, he sent Gargomon flying and crashing into an abandoned car where he lay moaning quietly to himself.

Fear spiked through Raf, "Gargomon!"

He quickly rushed to his Digimon's side, leaving both Miko and Biyomon alone to face the giant Champion. Which, wasn't a good development since...Aquilamon had not forgotten about the Digimon who had caused him to get his horns stuck...

"BIYOMON! MOVE!" Miko screamed. Her partner got to her clawed feet shakily and realized what Miko had said.

The little Rookie quickly followed her advice, just in time for Aquilamon to pull his wings back and fire several of his feathers at the girl and her Rookie.

**-STEALTH QUARREL!-**

The ground where she'd been standing a moment ago exploded into bits of concrete, showering the two in rubble. Biyomon was sent flying and promptly face-planted into the ground where she lay. Aquilamon landed on a nearby pillar, watching her like a hawk. Miko ran over to her partner, ignoring the danger.

"Biyomon!" she was just worried about her partner.

"Ugh..." Biyomon moaned, tying to pick herself off the ground. She felt as if two Greymon had just been playing 'kick the can' with her for a moment or two.

"Biyomon!" the Digimon's head perked up, turning to see Miko rush over to her, "Are you alright!?"

The bird Digimon picked herself off the ground the best she could, "I...I think so."

Miko gave her partner a big hug, "I was so worried, I saw the explosion and you and..." she didn't finish as Aquilamon let out a loud squawk that echoed across the area.

He flew back into the air and circled over head, stopping in front of the two. His massive wings buffeted them and kicked up dust and rubble.

"Scrap..." MIko muttered in shock. She held Biyomon even closer, trying to be prepared for anything that might happen. Aquilamon could do anything at that point. Blast them into mince meat, crush them, eat them. Nothing looked good at that angle.

And it was likely to get worse.

"Biyomon..." Miko whispered, trying not to move all that much. The suddenness of movements could easily set the creature off...

"Yes?"

"Got any ideas?" she mumbled, the massive Digimon still staring at them like a predator sizing up its prey.

"I... got nothing." Biyomon admitted.

"Great."

Miko and Biyomon froze up slightly when they heard the massive Digimon slowly pulled his head up, like something was building up...

"Well..." Miko gulped, "I got an idea..."

"What's...that?"

**-BLAST LASER!-**

Suddenly grabbing the little Digimon by the arm, Miko ran for her life, "RUN!"

The two _barely_ avoided the blast, but the shockwave? Not as lucky. Miko and Biyomon went flying, the latter hitting against the railing. Miko went over the edge, falling to the ground below, screaming.

"MIKO!"

"BIYOMON!" Miko screamed as she fell, and a horrible realization hit her. She was going to die. The moment she hit the side of the dam, she was dead. She'd break every bone in her body when she hit and likely bleed out on the ground…

The world was moving in slow motion for the girl, and she saw Biyomon leaping after her. She reached a hand out to her friend as the wind blew by, "Biyomon…"

Her digivice flashed bright white.

**-DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!-**

An egg of data suddenly engulfed Biyomon and she felt her skin stripped away to its wire frame. New flesh replaced it and she felt herself grow large and powerful.

Meanwhile, Miko closed her eyes and braced herself for the hard landing she was about to experience, "Oh this is going to HURT!"

However, before she hit the ground, Miko felt herself collide into something much softer and...warm. Warm like a distant fire, gently brushing against her face and rest of her body. Was this what it felt like to die?

"Wha?" the teen mumbled before opening her eyes.

But as she looked downward, she quickly noticed that she had not slammed into the concrete and died. But instead, she was on the back of a _extremely _large bird. It was similar to Aquilamon, but far more savage in appearance. Its feathers didn't even look like feathers. It looked more like fire if anything! Flashing back and forth and glowing red, yellow, and orange all at once.\

"B-biyomon?" Miko squeaked.

The massive bird looked back at her as it flew. It had a sharp pointed beak and a sleek aerodynamic appearance, much like the rest of the birds fiery body. It's mouth opened to reveal rows of teeth hidden within her beak.

"It's Birdramon now!" she declared in a strong booming voice.

Miko was shocked to the near point of silence at this, but eventually it all settled in, prompting one reaction from the girl.

"AWESOME!" she screamed, pumping her arms into the air, "YOU DIGIVOLED INTO THIS!?"

"Yes!" Birdramon nodded, "Now hold on and let e get you somewhere safe!"

Miko did as she was told, holding tightly onto Birdramon's feathers as she banked around. Looking around, the massive bird saw Gargomon getting out of the wreckage with Raf helping him the best he could.

Letting out a battle cry, Birdramon landed on the street with an earth shaking thud, lowering a wing so Miko could slide off. The girl hit the street and looked up at her partner in awe.

"Now," Birdramon's booming voice echoed, "Get somewhere safe while I handle Aquilamon!"

Looking up, the pair could still see the massive Digimon circling them from above. It looked a bit confused about what had happened, but was not about to be caught off guard by its new competition.

"Alright!" Miko cheered, "Go kick that chicken's butt!"

Birdramon smirked and raised her giant wings. Before she could take off though, a voice interrupted her take off.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Gargomon insisted, and hopped onto Birdramon's back. With the two champions ready for battle, Birdramon let out a triumphant call and took off into the air, winging towards Aquilamon fast.

"You ready for this, Gargomon?" the massive bird asked the gun totting rabbit on her back, nearing their enemy at a fast pace.

"OH yeah!" Gargomon smirked, readying his guns for another volley, "Lets toast this pidgin!"

The two charged at Aquilamon, who seemed frozen in place as they approached. Which was fine by Gargomon. Made the bird brain an easier target.

**-GARGO PELLETS!-**

Green light danced around the bird Digimon, pelting his feathers and making him lose altitude. Before he could recover though, Birdramon added to the fire. Literally.

**-METEOR WING!-**

With a powerful flap of her wings, Birdramon unleashed a massive storm of fire upon the giant bird Digimon. And with Aquilamon already falling due to Gargomon's bullets, it could do nothing as the fire slammed into the bird like a train.

Aquilamon screamed as the fire burned at its body, now having no chance to recover from the earlier assault. And with its wings now on fire, the massive Digimon fell through the air like a brick. He spiraled downwards at an incredible pace, desperately flapping his flaming wings to slow himself. It didn't work, and the bird slammed face first into the hard ground below with an echoing _'CRACK!'._

Miko and Raf both winced, "Ooh, that had to hurt."

And then, the damage too much for Aquilamon, the bird slowly dissolved into data which gently drifted into the air. Birdramon and Gargomon flew by it and landed next to their tamers as the data dissipated into nothingness.

"And that takes care of that." Gargomon smirked to himself, brushing a bit of gun powder off of his hands.

"Yeah!" Miko cheered again. She wished she had her phone to record that! It was something she never would have wanted to miss, ever!

"That was awesome!" She hugged Birdramon best she could (Given her massive size).

"You were awesome!" she corrected.

If she could have, Birdramon would have smiled at that, "Thanks." the massive bird said instead, bowing her head slightly.

Miko beamed, the sight of the massive bird was just so awesome! She had imagined what Biyomon's next form was, but seeing it for herself was a whole other thing entirely!

"You were awesome too, Gargomon!" Raf smiled, patting the rabbit on the arm (avoiding the guns as best he could).

Gargomon replied by spinning his chamber rounds, "Ol'Bird Brain didn't see us comin!" he declared happily. Raf just chuckled as the four reveled in their victory.

It was only slightly short lived, as the bots soon returned a few minutes later.

They transformed and stared at Birdramon, "Biyomon digivolved!" Miko explained happily.

"...yeah..." Bulkhead muttered, the bots more than a bit shocked at what they were seeing.

Birdramon was a bit different in comparison to Gargomon...like the fact that she was nearly their size, if not bigger!

Still, the Autobots eventually managed to recover from the shock, having gotten a bit used to it. After all, they had all seen how big Growlmon was, and he dwarfed Birdramon. So they focused on something more relevant, "What happened to the other bird?"

Gargomon smiled and pumped his fist into the air, "We kicked his digital butt!"

"Nothing but data," Miko agreed.

Arcee looked at the crater where Aquilamon had landed, "How're we gonna explain this to Fowler?" she muttered.

Agent Fowler was the only one so far who knew nothing of the Digimon, simply because no one had bothered to tell him. Not a month had passed yet, so Optimus hadn't submitted his monthly report to the agent either. But his ignorance might change very soon if their recent battle was anything to go off of.Raf, Miko and the Digimon looked at each other for a moment. The Digimon didn't even know who this 'Fowler' person was.

"We could always blame it on the cons." Raf shrugged, "Say they came to siphon off some power or blow it up?"

It sounded like something the cons would do...but Arcee brought up a good counter to that, "And how would prove that?"

Miko shrugged, "How can you prove it was a Digimon? Bird brain is nothing but data now."

"Camera's." Arcee pointed at the little devices scattered about.

Miko and Raf froze, "AW SCRAP!"

Gargomon looked at the strange little devices for a moment, "Want me to shoot them?"

Miko covered her face with her hands and mumbled, "That isn't going to help us now..."

Raf meanwhile just sighed, "Maybe we should talk to Jack first...before dealing with Fowler. He did say that he has dealt with the government before, right?"

"Oh yeah, he did!" Miko said hurriedly, "Maybe he has some old contacts or something?"

"Maybe." Raf agreed.

With their quarry beaten though, there was no reason for them to remain at Hoover Dam. The sooner they left, the better. Arcee put a servo to her comm. "Glad we've got that settled. Ratchet? We need a bridge."

Moments later, a new Ground Bridge appeared just a few feet away from the group. But upon seeing it, Miko couldn't help but laugh, "Ratchet is going to _freak_ when he sees you!" she giggled while looking at her giant partner.

Birdramon sighed and lowered her head, "Miko..." she didn't like the idea of her new form scaring anyone.

Miko patted Birdramon's leg,"Aw come on, how bad could it be?"

_Autobot HQ…_

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF PRIMUS!?"

"Is he going to do that every time he sees one of us?" Gargomon asked, earning a sigh from Raf.

"I think that so..."

Upon returning to base, Birdramon's worry was proven well deserving when Ratchet...well, he nearly glitched upon seeing the massive bird. The bird in question covered her face with her wing, embarrassed for more than one reason.

"Seriously Ratchet?" Miko demanded, hands on hips, "Not cool."

The medic calmed down and glared at Arcee and Bulkhead, "A warning would be preferable!"

"Oh come on, like you would have reacted any different if we told you." Bulkhead pointed out.

"You wouldn't even of believed us." Arcee agreed, having known the medic long enough. Even if they told him, he would have simply pushed it off as nonsense until they arrived...and then he would have reacted like that anyway.

"You do not know that!" Ratchet protested. The two bots crossed their arms.

He blinked and looked a bit sheepish, "Well... you don't." he sighed and looked back at the terminal.

Optimus, who had been standing next to the other terminal (Apparently he'd returned from his patrol) approached the three Autobots, "And your mission?"

While the Autobots explained what happened, Miko put a hand on Birdramon, "Don't let the rust bucket get to you Birdramon, you're fine."

Putting her wing down, Birdramon wished she could smile, "Thank you, Miko."

The girl smiled, patting the bird on the leg with comfort, "There you go."

Although, Miko was making a few mental suggestions when it came to getting even with the Ratchet. The only Digimon he hadn't freaked out about so far was Gargomon, and that was probably due to his small stature. Something that seemed to be inherent in his digivolution lines.

Jack got up from his position, grabbing at his ribs and approached the railing, "So you finally digivolved Biyomon huh? Not bad Miko."

Miko finally broke away from the thoughts of revenge and turned toward Jack with a smile, "Yep! Ain't it awesome!"

"Yeah." Jack chuckled, "What did you have to do get it to happen?"

Her smile dropped a tad and Miko shared a look with her partner, "Oh...I just had to take a little fall...that's all."

Jack raised a brow but decided not to question it. Such a thing _was_ personal, so no need to focus on it. Not that he could have, as an old familiar human face appeared. One that annoyed human and Digimon alike with the mere act of speaking. An impressive feat for sure.

"PRIME!"

Everyone winced at the...ear grating voice they all heard. It was like nails on a chalkboard. Jack in particular winced before looking over at Raf and Miko, "What happened?"

Miko and Gargomon looked around innocently while Raf hung his head,"...We...kind of forgot about the cameras at the damn."

The teens eyes widened for a moment, "...Scrap, I forgot about that too."

And there was no time to try and change what had been seen...

"What is it Agent Fowler?" Ratchet sighed, not noticing a second proximity alert going off. Optimus and the others turned to see the human agent. An African American man with a large pot belly and receding line of hair, Agent Fowler wasn't so much a friend of the Autobots as he was an…acquaintance. And he always had to complain about something when it came to the Autobots.

"I'll tell you what!" Fowler started, and then trailed off as he slowly came to a stop at the railing, seeing the three Digimon there. The entire room fell silent, with only the twin alarms going off.

Gargomon crossed his arms and scowled at the man while Birdramon looked away...and Guilmon? Well, he was Guilmon.

"Hello!" the red Digimon smiled, waving at the gawking government agent.

Fowler reacted accordingly, "What in the Sam Hill is going on here!?"

Guilmon didn't even react to being ignored while the others looked at each other for a moment.

"Well, where do you want us to start?" Arcee asked with a shrug.

Fowler stared at the three Digimon and then glared at her, "The beginning would be nice!"

"Well Agent Fowler," Jack decided to start off, he knew more than anyone else present, "You see, these are-"

"They're called Digimon, and they are far outside your field of expertise," a gruff yet calm voice interrupted.

Jack went a little wide eyed before smirking, "I was wondering how long it would take for you to get involved again Yamaki."

"Well, you did not seriously expect me to wait this out, did you Mr. Darby?" Everyone, even Fowler, quickly looked behind the aged government agent and toward the same elevator the agent had used.

Standing in front of it was yet another man, one who was dressed in a much cleaner suit than Fowler, with the jacket completely buttoned up. He was around the same height as the agent, but that was where the similarities ended. The man had a sharp face, displaying a notable frown and a pair of black sunglasses that almost clashed with his blond hair. And unlike Fowler, he seemed to be in top shape.

Jack's smirk turned into a lazy grin, "Given all the trouble you and Hypnos caused last time, I guess that would be pretty silly of me, wouldn't it?"

The newly identified 'Yamaki' raised a brow at Jack, "Quite, but that is in the past, isn't it?"

"Well..." Jack waved his head back and forth for a moment, "After we saved your butts...yeah, that would be nice..."

"Hold on!" Fowler quickly interrupted the two's banter, "Just who are you! And what are you doing here?!"

Yamaki turned his gaze on Fowler, his sunglasses flashing as he did, "My name is Mitsuo Yamaki. And I'm the head of HYPNOS."

**A/N: And so the legendary cliffhangers continue! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to review with critique and PM me with questions. And it seems that the mysterious man's identity has been revealed. But who is Yamaki, what's HYPNOS, and exactly what sort of shenanigans did he and Jack get into all those years ago? Leave your ideas in the review box below, and I'll see you guys on the next Digital Resurgence!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Great Escape

_Autobot HQ…_

The announcement of who Yamaki was and who he worked for quickly silenced Fowler along with the others. They had never even heard of such an organization, but something told them there was more to it than just a name.

Raf leaned over and whispered to Jack, "Is this what you meant earlier when you mentioned the government?"

The teen nodded, "Yeah, but they were a bit more...strict when we first met. They mellowed out for the most part when me and Guilmon took care of the big honcho last time, but they can still be a bit...tight."

"We were only doing our job," Some of the bases inhabitants noticed Yamaki flipping a lighter open and closed in his hands repeatedly.

"The fact is that what you did Jack went against everything we truly believed when it came to Digimon." Yamaki looked over at Gargomon and Birdramon, "And it seems that it's happened again, twice over."

Gargomon glared back at Yamaki while Birdramon looked away yet again. Something about the man's look unsettled the bird quite a bit. It was probably the sunglasses he wore. They left his face utterly expressionless, and Birdramon was unnerved by that. Most humans she could read. She couldn't read Yamaki though…

"What did you originally believe when it came to Digimon?" Raf asked, a bit curious.

All they had heard about the creatures were from Jack, and just Jack...but what did a government agent think about them?

Yamaki readjusted his sunglasses,"In all truthfulness, I initially despised Digimon, seeing them as nothing but packets of data that were a threat to the human world. A threat that had to be destroyed, no matter the cost."

That...made basically everyone in the command center who had actually interacted with one of the teen's Digimon go silent. As for the Digimon themselves? Well, Gargomon glared at the man even more while Birdramon tried to ignore him. But Guilmon?

That was something that finally chilled his cheery mood. For he had actually seen this man's hatred of Digimon, and it was not pretty. A lot of Digimon died because of Yamaki. Not all of them bad.

Jack saw the hostile looks Yamaki was getting and quickly tried to mediate everyone, "Though he's on our side now. After the Juggernaut incident, he realized his mistakes, right?"

Yamaki straightened his glasses, not giving Jack a physical reaction. But...

"Yes." he nodded, "The views of the organization...and myself have been reevaluated since then, changing both our methods and goals significantly. We've devoted our resources to better understanding the Digimon as living creatures, and not just as data, in order to send them back to their world in more humane ways."

"Well...that's good." Miko muttered, having stepped in front of her partner upon hearing about the man's previous policy concerning Digimon in general.

"Still doesn't explain why you're here." she added.

"Or how you managed to discern our location." Optimus pointed out. His faceplate was neutral and refrained from forming an opinion on Yamaki yet. He was too withdrawn for the Prime to properly read yet.

Yamaki flipped his lighter open and closed once, "HYPNOS has kept an eye on your kind for quite some time. Being advanced Artificial Intelligences, we were one of the first agencies alerted to your existence once you landed. When it was deemed you weren't within a jurisdiction, we stopped monitoring you."

"You were...monitoring us?" Ratchet asked, feeling quite disgruntled about that.

"Yes. but again. We stopped that some time ago." Yamaki made that quite clear, "We only discovered that you were connected due to placing you at the scene with one of the breach events."

"The most recent in fact." Yamaki's glasses flashed when he looked at Raf and Miko.

The two looked away rubbing at their heads rather sheepishly. Yamaki looked back at Jack, "You've been busy training them, haven't you?"

Jack crossed his arms and leaned against the couch,"Would you'd have preferred I just let them figure it out on their own like I did?"

Yamaki appeared to think about such a thing, even if the others couldn't quite tell. The man was really good at hiding what went on in that blonde head of his.

"No," he finally admitted, "I suppose not. It has allowed us to deal with things far less...dramatically as before."

Jack let out a small laugh. This man still hadn't changed from their last encounter. He then stopped laughing and raised a brow, "Still, I guess this leads to the question...why you're here, I guess?"

"Issues at headquarters prevented me from coming sooner," Yamaki explained.

He then looked at the wary Guilmon, who let out a warning growl at him. Despite his change of heart, Yamaki had done little to earn Guilmon's trust except for helping Jack on a few occasions. Unless the man did something that truly proved his change of heart, Guilmon wasn't going to be trusting the man anytime soon.

"Your Digimons return to our world was the first time a portal between the human and digital world opened in two years. When it did, something happened at HYPNOS HQ that caused a massive system restart. When the systems were rebooted, all our data, all the experience we gathered from the previous event was gone."

That made Jack and Guilmon's eyes widen. They knew what kind of stuff HYPNOS had to have, and that didn't just include what went on with him and Guilmon. That also included some of the...shadier things the teen had discovered about the organization, something that made it really hard for him to trust him all those years ago.

"Gone?..." Jack had to ask, "How...could it be all gone?"

Yamaki shook his head, "We are still unsure at this time. Although, we are looking into it. Thoroughly. All we know for sure is that the data wasn't just lost. It was stolen."

"What? By who?" Raf asked, having returned to the upper area. Terriermon (Gargomon had degenerated) sat on his head, watching Yamaki intently.

"We don't know for sure. But that's why I'm here. All we know is that it was a Digimon that did it. And with our data gone ,we have no idea which one it could be. I figured Jack may know what Digimon it was due to his expertise with them."

The teen in question just stood there however, with a confused look on his face. He had seen many types of Digimon during his time as a tamer. But something that could, and well, wanted to steal all of their data like that? He hadn't a clue. The worst Digimon he knew wanted to rule the world, not waste their time with data...

"Sorry..." Jack sighed, "But...I got nothing."

Yamaki frowned at such a revelation. But he hadn't completely unexpected that response. After all, Jack wasn't a complete expert.

"Hey." Miko pointed out, "What about old tall, dark, and gruesome?"

"Devimon?" Jack asked. Miko nodded.

He shook his head in response, "No, the firewalls HYPNOS has are far beyond anything a Champion could break. Whoever did this? Well they're an ultimate at least. More likely, they're a Mega."

"Yeah." Miko shrugged, "But maybe he knows something about this? He did go on about his bosses being much more powerful than he was and all that. Maybe they had something to do with this?"

Bulkhead let off a grunt regarding that, "But the Scrapheap hasn't said a word about anything since we captured him. Primus sake, the glitch is still locked up here, remaining as silent as Ratchet is when he's tinkering."

Now that got Yamaki's attention, "Wait, you have a live Digimon here, in captivity!?"

The bots looked amongst each other, not realizing how big a deal this was. For them capturing Devimon had been easy. For HYPNOS, as Jack and Yamaki remembered, it had been a onetime event that had required a massive amount of manpower.

"Well...yeah." Arcee shrugged, "Ever since we caught him, we've been keeping the creep locked up here at the base with enough light to peal the pain off Knockout's finish if we had to."

Despite how much they wanted to (especially Arcee), the bots still hadn't moved past their reluctance when it came to executing someone. Devimon was a harmless prisoner now, they'd gain nothing by killing him. And they'd be right, if he was a Decepticon.

Yamaki looked at Jack, "Why haven't you interrogated him?"

"One, he's fanatically loyal." Jack started, "And two, the guy seems to want to kill me the most. Almost did."

And after the second time Jack tried to talk to the devil Digimon (where Devimon tried to crush Jack despite being weakened by the light), the bot's made sure to _not _let the teen near that Digimon again.

"And to be clear, we've interrogated him. Multiple times." Arcee pointed out.

"And you're findings?"

The femme sighed, "Well, after the first time...he just keeps trying to tempt us into deleting him, or just insulting us."

"It is more than likely that this 'Devimon' knows little of his true masters plan." Optimus added his two cents with a frown, "Like many Decepticons, he is just a pawn in his masters game."

"And from what we've gathered," Ratchet sighed, "He knows this, quite well. I'ts likely the reason why he hasn't tried to bargain with us or anything of the sort." They still weren't sure if this was more or less annoying than another scrapheap they knew...

"Then deleting him would be your best option." Yamaki stated, "A wild Digimon is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. The longer you let him live, the more likely it is he'll escape. And if he manages to digivolve..."

Everyone (well, except Fowler. He still had little idea of what was going on) could see the damage that could cause. Although, no one knew that better than Jack. He had fought the exact form that Devimon could became...and the various forms _after_ that. He had no intention of ever seeing another Myotismon again.

"He's right." Jack sighed, "Much as I hate destroying a prisoner, if Devimon escapes, thousands could die. If he Digivolves..."

"It'll be a repeat of the events that occurred all those years ago." Yamaki finished. He closed his lighter with a definitive 'clack!'

The others shared a confused look for a moment, "You still haven't told us...what exactly happened back then, you know that right?"

Guilmon, Jack, and even Yamaki shared their own look upon hearing that.

"Trust us..." Jack shuddered, "You don't want to know..."

He still had bad dreams involving Myotismon, and his various minions. That monster might have relied less on illusions than Devimon...but he was just as sadistic, maybe even more so. This just raised more questions for everyone else, but they decided not to ask Jack... for now.

Instead, the bots turned to Optimus. Since Devimon was technically an Autobot prisoner, his execution was up to the Prime. And seeing the look on the Prime's face, his feelings towards the idea were actually…very mixed.

"You truly think this is our only course of action?" he asked Yamaki.

Yamaki nodded, "Yes. As you've described, this Digimon has a direct vendetta against the children. Even if we were able to release him back into the Digital World, he could easily return and try again. Perhaps even proving successful in a second attempt."

Jack visibly winced at that, subconsciously grabbing at the cast under his shirts. Optimus looked over the children and their Digimon. Powerful as they were, Devimon had managed to take down a veteran warrior with relative ease. If he escaped, there was no telling the damage he would wreak.

"Though it pains me to end the life of any sapient being, I believe that Yamaki is correct. Deletion of Devimon is the only way to ensure the safety, not only of the children, but of humanity in general."

The others nodded, with Arcee even sending Jack a glance as well. They knew how hard this decision had to be on the Prime, but after what Devimon had done to that town and the children, there was no other way to handle such a creature.

"Glad to see that you understand." Yamaki nodded, "Now, deleting a Champion level Digimon is no easy task, but with you having him contained and weakened, I'm sure it will not be too difficult."

The man then turned toward Birdramon (who hadn't reverted to Biyomon yet since it was her first time digivolving), "Especially with the resources you currently have."

Birdramon shifted in place nervously at first, while Miko put a hand on her partner's talon, "Think you're up to it?"

"I... I can try."

Miko smiled, "I'm sure you'll do fine. And besides, I'll be with you the whole time."

If Birdramon had a mouth, she certainly would have smiled at that.

"Good," Yamaki nodded before turning to the bots, "Then I suggest taking care of this immediately before anything else can occur."

And at that exact moment, the entire base went dark. There was a slapping sound from Jack, since he had just slapped himself with the palm of his hand.

"You had to say that, didn't you?"

Bulkhead looked around worriedly, "What just happened?!"

Ratchet quickly rushed over to his console once again, the display just barely hanging on, "The base's generator has been cut! Backup systems are warming up, but for the moment, we've got nothing."

"Great..." Jack grumbled, "You think Devimon did it?"

"Five bucks said he did." Miko replied with a scowl.

"Autobots!" Optimus boomed, "Be on your guard. Bulkhead, you and I will investigate the cell. The rest of you, watch the children."

"Understood." Arcee nodded while Bumblebee nodded and Ratchet slammed his servos on his console in annoyance. During that however, the children's Digimon moved protectively closer to their partners. With the darkness, there was no telling what Devimon would do or when.

"Should I digivolve Jack?" Guilmon asked.

His tamer nodded, "Better safe than sorry boy."

"Okay." Guilmon nodded with his claws clenched, determined to make up for last time. He got blindsided by that monster and got Jack hurt. That wasn't going to happen this time he was sure of it.

"Alright then." Jack pulled out his digivice and smirked, "Let's do it!"

**-DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!-**

That data egg engulfed Guilmon yet again, who had moved down to the lower level of the base. The others were on the human platform.

**-GUILMON DIGIVOLVE TO!-**

His skin was torn asunder, the data matrix underneath exposed, only for new flesh to replace it. Guilmon grew larger, more powerful, and far more dangerous. The egg dissipated and the now massive Digimon let out a snort of fire.

**-GROWLMON!-**

With the now massive Digimon slamming his tail into the ground, Growlmon let out a powerful growl and sneered at the darkness that surrounded them.

"Let's see Devimon try something now!" he sneered.

With the light from the digivolution filling the room for a brief moment, Raf looked at his own Digimon (who was sitting on his head still, looking around like a guard dog).

"Wanna join him Terriermon?"

Immediately he jumped off Raf's head, "Heck yeah! Let's do it!"

**-DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE-**

Like with Guilmon, a large digital egg suddenly engulfed the little bunny Digimon.

**-TERRIERMON DIGIVOLVE TO!-**

With the digital hurricane going on around him, Terriermon's skin was torn apart and quickly rebuilt, growing larger with massive guns for his hands, longer arms and legs along with his ears, and new clothing. This included a ammo belt on his torso and a pair of blue jeans on. Landing on the ground with a grin on his face, the larger rabbit let out a smirk and spun his chambers with a audible click.

**-GARGOMON!-**

"As if one wasn't bad enough." Yamaki muttered.

"At least they're on our side this time." Jack replied to the agent.

Fowler in the meanwhile finally suffered an overload.He dropped to his knees and just shook his head, not even having the strength to freak the hell out again. That happened the first time he saw the bots and the Digimon...but now? He was just too out of it for words...

"It takes a while to get used to," Yamaki told the agent without taking his eyes off the Digimon, "Trust me. I know. Just consider yourself lucky that these Digimon are on our side. Imagine the havoc they would wreak otherwise."

Fowler gulped nervously, putting a hand to his head, "Lincoln's beard..." he muttered, remembering the security footage he had been told about.

Sure, he hadn't actually seen it (the reason why he freaked out upon seeing the Digimon)...but after what he had been told and seeing the Digimon for real? It...kind of made the bots seem like small potatoes...slightly.

"Indeed," Yamaki replied, ignoring the odd expression, "These three may be our only true defense against the Digimon and whoever is manipulating them."

He hated to admit it, but the fact was humanity couldn't hold their own against the Digimon. The Autobots would hold up better, but Yamaki knew the more powerful ones, the Ultimates and Mega's, were out of their league.

The entire structure shuddered, sending dust raining from the ceiling. The Digimon looked around with narrowed eyes, and the Autobots deployed their weapons. The kids held their digivices and cards in their hands. They were ready for whatever Devimon could dish out. As if on cue, Devimon's chilling laugh echoed down the halls.

"And here he is..." Jack muttered.

Growlmon sneered at the darkness while Gargomon and Birdramon put their arms (wing in Birdramon's case) in front of their partner's protectively. Arcee and the other bots readied their weapons while the Yamaki looked on with a blank expression on his face…and Fowler? He did what everyone expected him to do.

"What the Sam Hill is going on!?"

"Fowler." Jack growled, his body tense like Growlmons (If one looked close at his eyes, they'd notice they were dilated like his partners as well).

"Stay. Quiet."

"What!?" the agent yelled again, still confused as ever.

"Fowler!" Ratchet growled, "Shut your trap!"

The agent didn't really pay attention to the bot, but something else caught his attention. It was the lights, the very limited emergency lights that allowed the group to see...anything more than a foot in front of their faces. They were going out...blinking like the light-bulbs were going out.

"What is going on?" he whimpered.

The three Digimon grew tense, Growlmon snarling loudly. The hair at the back of his neck was standing at ends and his teeth were bared. The lights in the hall slowly shut off with a definitive 'thunk, thunk, thunk'. The lights in the main hall went off all at once. Miko let out a surprised squeak as the room was plunged into darkness. Only the optics of the Autobots provided illumination, as did Ratchet's flickering console.

Growlmon snarled angrily, "He's here."

The Digimon and Autobots quickly looked around them. Ratchet grabbed one of the large lights he kept by his terminal and direct it into the darkness in a attempt to find the dark Digimon. All it revealed was stone walls.

"...Tick Tock, goes the clock. And what then shall we play?..."

But as they searched, and eerie voiced echoed through the command center, making nearly everyone's skin crawl.

"...Tick Tock, goes the clock, now summer's gone away?..."

"Stop hidin ya panzy!" Gargomon ordered. He fired a burst of his vulcans into the dark, making everyone jump.

"Gargomon!" they all yelled.

"What!?" the Digimon questioned, "Dah Jerk is hiding here somewhere! We just havta shoot him out!"

But despite the Digimon's attack, the sinister voice continued to sing his eerie song, "...Tick Tock, goes the clock, and all the years they fly..."

"Bite me!" Gargomon growled, getting really sick of the Digimon's attempts to freak them out.

"...Tick Tock, And all too soon, you and I must die..."

And on those words, Fowler shrieked. All eyes and weapons shot towards him... And the large black hand wrapped around his neck.

"Well, well, well…"

Fowler frantically kicked his legs as he was lifted into the air, gasping for air like a fish out of water. In the meanwhile through, a familiar and...unwelcomed face slowly emerged from the shadows behind the agent, his massive wings spreading out like the growing darkness surrounding everyone. His sickly pale face practically glowed in the darkness, with his piercing red eyes glaring over the entire assembled group of humans, Digimon, and Autobots.

Devimon smirked, "...Glad to see the old gang is here. Well, mostly anyway."

Jack backed away from the Digimon and his sinister smile. Growlmon and the others turned on Devimon, their bodies tense and shaking.

"Devimon." they hissed.

"Ah, you remember me." the devilish being's smirk turned into a fanged grin.

"We've been apart for so long, that..." the Digimon smirked while Frowler dangled in his grip, "...I thought you might have forgotten about me."

"Gu-guys?" Fowler gasped, trying to hang on for the moment, "A...a l-a little help?"

The Digimon glanced at the gasping man and merely shrugged before tossing him to the side, "How irritating." he muttered, feeling as if he had dirtied himself by simply touching the agent.

Luckily Fowler landed uninjured on the ground. He was just out of commission for quite some time.

"You've got some nerves showin yer face here fang face!" Gargomon's Vulcan spun angrily.

Devimon was unperturbed by this. Instead, he merely stood above the group, his arms crossed with a frown on his face.

"My nerves?" he question, "Do you know how it felt to be imprisoned here? With the burning pain of holy light burning down onto your flesh, tearing your data apart code by code? Really, it was simply due for my return. You just had to be here when it happened."

"This is our base!" Arcee hissed, pointing her blasters at Devimon.

The devil chuckled, "Oh yes, it is." he looked over at the terminal, his grin never fading, "And I wonder just how much data you have stored."

Realization hit Jack like a ton of bricks, "Stop him, now!"

Gargomon and the bots quickly unloaded at the Digimon, their blasters lighting up the base blues, reds, and greens. Bits and pieces of Devimon broke off of him, shattering into loose data that quickly dissipated. His body was quickly reduced to a position akin to swiss cheese. However, despite all of this Devimon never stopped grinning, even when he got one of his arms blown off.

"My, my. Mighty trigger happy," he smirked, "Aren't you?"

"He should be nothing but data!" Jack yelped, continuing to put some distance between them.

As if on cue, the Digimon faded away in maniacal laughter. Jacks eyes bulged, "An illusion!? Frag!"

After what he had done last time, with scaring the living hell out of the teens and distracting the bots, it was no wonder that Devimon would be in a illusion mood. Especially with all the darkness that consumed them.

"Why yes, my dear boy." Jack froze. Because he could feel the sensation of warm wet breath against his neck. And that got even worse when he felt a large...black hand pat him on the head, "You're always the one got get it first, aren't you?"

"Get away from me!" he yelled, immediately darting out from his hand. Immediately he wished he hadn't, as his ribs flared and he doubled over in pain.

Devimon laughed happily and straightened up, "Seems you're still carrying that reminder from me, boy."

The dark Digimon even poked Jack in the ribs with delight, watching with glee as Jack reacted as if someone had stabbed in him his wounds.

Which wasn't that far off actually due to Devimon's claws, "Although, they seem to have faded a tad..." he noted with a touch of disappointment.

Disappointment that quickly shifted into murderous glee, "Please, allow me to fix that!"

There was a flash of green and red as Growlmon and Gargomon defended Jack from Devimon, blasting him with fire and time they did have an impact on him, forcing the Digimon to fade into the shadow.

"Don't touch him!" Growlmon roared, fire seeping out of his mouth due to his fury, casting long unnatural shadows against the wall. Marching over toward his partner, Growlmon and the rest of the others quickly began scanning the room again. Devimon was there, they knew that now... all they had to do was flush him out.

"Very well," the Digimon's voice echoed.

"I will leave the boy be, but..." he let out a chilling laugh, "That data is mine!"

With such a declaration, everyone's attention was quickly drawn back towards Ratchet's console. The darkness that had nearly engulfed the command center by this point shifted and moved towards the console, rising up its surface like thousands of snakes tracking down their prey. The console was engulfed in seconds, plunging the base into an even deeper darkness then before. All the while, Devimon laughed madly.

"Not if I have anything tah say about it!" Gargomon snapped, aiming his guns towards the console.

Two skinny arms shot from the darkness and grabbed Gargomons hands, pulling them apart.

"Oh I don't think so." Devimon chuckled. Gargomon couldn't break his grip, Devimon had hands of iron.

"Growlmon!"

"Birdramon!"

"Stop him!" Miko and Jack ordered in sync.

Both Champions quickly leaped into action, leaping toward the dark Digimon's constructs. Spreading her wings, Birdramon began to flap the burning appendages at an increased pace while the blades on Growlmon's arms started to glow bright red.

**-DRAGON SLASH!-**

**-METEOR WING!-**

The entire console was decimated, exploding in a ball of fire.

"That oughta do it!" Growlmon roared.

Devimon laughed loudly, "Close Digimon. But not close enough."

"What?!" Growlmon and Birdramon shouted, almost certain that they had cut the link before the Digimon had a chance to snatch it.

The echoing laughed of the dark Digimon filled the room, eventually leading the team to look around frantically for the creature.

"I can't wait to sort through all of this," Devimon let out an ecstatic hissing laugh, "It will surely be quite a read."

"Not if we delete you first!" Gargomon snapped, the arms that had been holding him having vanished into the darkness.

Devimon just laughed, "As fun as this is, I have my own matters to attend to."

And like that, the darkness engulfing the base vanished. Along with Devimon, leaving the Tamers and Autobots to recover from his escape…

_Elsewhere…_

Deep within the recesses of the barren Nevada desert, a black shadow sped across the sandy desert. There was no plane flying overhead or anything else, it was just a shadow, simple as that. It slithered across the lifeless land, moving at a speed that seemed impossible, where it not for the creature controlling the shadow.

It reached its destination, a nearby mesa, and began spreading up its surface.It slowly spread up the mesa, reaching the peak were it slowly formed into Devimon, looking over the barren desert landscape with a large grin.

He pressed his claws together before spreading them wide. Lines and code of brilliany white data danced between his claws, "So much data, so much power... Never before have I felt so much before..."

His body was practically electrified, the previous weeks of containment feeling like a bad after taste at the most. Devimon slowly closed his claws together, letting the data swirl over his fingers and up his arms were it infused itself into his own code.

"I feel like I could take on anything!" he shouted into the air, the new found power going to his head just a bit, "So much power, so much more than I've ever felt!"

He raised his claws to the sky, "I can do anything with all this data, even... even..."

His eyes widened and a grin spread over his face, "Even digivolve."

While he had been trapped in the employ of his masters, the demonic Digimon never got a chance to even consider digivolving. But with this find of the digital century...it seemed all the more possible! And with such a possibility, Devimon couldn't help but laugh like the madman he was.

"Yes!" he crackled, "Yes! YES! YES!"

Data scrolled around his body and began twisting it into a new shape. A darker more twisted shape than ever before. Devimon announced his change to the world.

**-DEVIMON DIGIVOLVE TO!-**

Darkness swirled around the mesa, clouds and lightening manifesting about him. Thunder boomed and the sliver of white moon was blotted out from the sky. Devimon's laughter echoed even louder as his body started to rip apart, changing in a similar manner as the Rookies went through as they digivolved. But instead of it being a quick and simple process, the devil's transformation was nothing of the sort.

His wings dissolved into data, the skin and bones dissipating into the very air. The same could be said about his horns and a large part of his inhumanly huge arms. But as they were erased, the darkness surrounding the Digimon returned, reconstructing him into a much darker and powerful form.

As his data reformed, he slowly grew taller, into a form tall enough to match him with Growlmons impressive height. His wings reshaped into a long flowing red and black cape, and his odd mask reformed into a simpler red design that only covering his eyes, which extended into two batlike wings spreading backwards.

His entire black suit was replaced with an elegant blue suit laced with gold and bat like symbols on his shoulders. A large collar practically engulfed his head, and grey gloves covered his clawed hands.

The data reformed on his feet, creating black boots with skull imprints on them. His skin turned a pale blue and slick golden hair sprouted from his skull. The final change was his glowing red eyes shifting into one green eye and one blue eye instead. With the change complete, he spread his arms wide, his long cape billowing in the wind.

**-MYOTISMON!-**

With the darkness surrounding him exploding outward, the new Ultimate level Digimon came floating back to the ground, his boots softly touching the dirt beneath him. The mesa itself began to darken from his mere presence, and a faint fog began to form around him.

"Hehehe..." he chuckled, taking a moment to fully take in what had happened to him. The pitiful existence he had put up with, all of it. It was now behind him. He was no longer the pathetic creature who had been kept imprisoned for weeks on end.

No, he was much more than that now.

His eyes went wide and he bared his teeth, revealing two fanged canines amongst his pearly whites, "I, am the lord of darkness!"

"I require the solace of the shadows and the dark of the night, these are my kingdoms!" Myotismon laughed, a deep seductive laugh that echoed across the desert landscape. Reveling in the darkness of the Mesa he stood under, the undead Digimon let out a more subtle chuckle.

"Ah, Darkness the perfect cloak for my Evil. Ideal conditions for producing fear." he mused.

"How easy it would be to destroy you all." his cloak fell around him, hiding the rest of his body.

His grin turned into a self satisfied smirk, "But no, I will not. Not yet anyway. I refuse to fall to the same manipulation my predecessor did."

"I will have my opportunity..." he murmured, "But I will wait...wait and snatch my victory when the time is right..."

With the light of the moon no longer shining brightly, the undead lord decided that now would be a time to plan. He would begin preparations for his attacks, ways of dealing with those who would stand in his way. And when the time came, he would unleash them, on both the human and digital world.

"This is something that needs...the right care in order to pull off." he muttered, before slipping into the shadows of the Mesa.

But as the Ultimate Digimon slid into his element for a moment of rest, he failed to notice something fairly important. The thrill of digivolving and his own ego had allowed him to make a massive mistake. For on top of the mesa, was another Digimon. It had been watching him, having been following him since his escape.

His masters had ordered him to release Devimon by cutting the power at the bot's base. But, something went wrong. The Champion was meant to die there so the gear themed Rookie could claim a bit of his data for his master's use. But now?

Hagurumon shivered, "Master will not like this...not one bit..."

**A/N: And so, another villain joins the fray, one who could be as big a threat as the other two power houses. The question now is, what will Myotismon do? Well, let's see if you guys can figure it out. Otherwise, what did you think of the chapter? Did you enjoy it, hate it, or somewhere in between. Let me know in the reviews what you thought, and remember to PM me with questions and such. I'll see you all next time on the next Digital Resurgence!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Recovery

_Autobot HQ…_

"SON OF A BITCH!" Jack cursed angrily, and would have flipped or punch something were it not for his injuries. What happened with Devimon was inexcusable! With all that data at his fingertips, digivolution wasn't just possible, it was inevitable. So of course, Jack was beyond furious.

"Jack, calm down-"

"How!?" the teen demanded, making the others flinch, "How can I be calm?!"

"Devimon is free, he has more than enough data to digivolve, and if he does…I've seen what he's going to become, the monster that will be unleashed!" the teen ranted, unable to stop for the moment. After everything Jack and Guilmon had experienced before, the idea of having the same thing repeat itself was _not_ something he wanted to see happen. But low and behold! It was!

Arcee frowned, "Yes," she started, "But you know what to expect this time, don't you?"

That was true, Jack did know what a Myotismon could do, after all, and he'd fought one before and beaten it. Even so…

"But he's not the same!" Jack insisted, "He isn't the same ego driven monster I fought last time! This one is different! He could do anything this time!"

Miko popped into the conversation and added her two cents, "Yeah, but we've seen what you can do too, and you have us to help. This won't be the same as last time. Heck it might be easier."

Jack would have not only Miko, Biyomon, Raf, and Terriermon with him this time, but the bots a well. Sure, they might have _no _idea of what happened last time...but they would be there for Jack this time around.

"I..." Jack hesitated for a moment, "I…just don't know… If Devimon digivolves..."

"He'll be a minor player still." Yamaki interrupted. Jack and the others turned towards the head of HYPNOS with raised brows.

Yamaki's lighter flipped open then closed, "You and I both know he was only a servant of the ones who attacked Hypnos. He's not the true threat we need to worry about."

Devimon hadn't lied when he told the bots about his bosses. He was merely a gear in their grand plan, and even as Myotismon, he would still be a mere grunt.

"I know..." Jack sighed, "I'm just worried about all the stuff he might cause. A Myotismon is ego driven, much more so than Devimon...so for all we know, he might throw his own hand into this mess and start even more trouble."

Gargomon crossed his arms, "Then we'll kick his butt." He said confidently, "Just like before."

Growlmon and Jack remained unconvinced. And for good reason. None of them knew what Myotismon was like the damage he caused. True, he wasn't the only player on the field anymore, but their job just got a heck of a lot harder. And with him still being injured, Jack felt like he was a small player in comparison. And not just because he'd moved back down to the lower ground by Growlmon for safety.

"Come on Jack," Arcee bent down to pat her partner on the back, "You've beaten this guy before, and this time he's alone. He's not unstoppable, and you've beaten his kind before. And besides, how is being so glum about it going to help us?"

"Point there." Jack sighed. Brooding didn't fit him. If he wanted to stop a possible repeat of the Myotismon incident, now was the time for action.

"Best thing to do now is to track him down and take him out." Despite his worries, Jack had to admit that was the best plan they had. It was really the only plan they had.

"Speaking of which," Bridramon spoke up, "Do you have any tips we should know concerning tracking him down? Anything at all?"

The teen quickly pushed his anger to the side and thought about that. It didn't take him long to come up with an answer for the bird theme Digimon.

"Well, there is one thing for certain." He admitted, "You'd likely only find him at night. His hatred to the sun is even worse than Devimon's."

"And during the day?"

"If he does come out during the day, a thick fog will cover the area first." Jack stated, "He did it last time. He'd do it again."

"Really?" Arcee asked, "A fog?" that sounded really…corny…

Jack shrugged, "Like I said, he likes to be dramatic. It goes with his ego. Which really puts Knockouts to shame."

"...Jeez." Miko muttered. She remembered how prissy the bright red con could be.

"Oh yeah, just wait till you see him if you think that is bad." Jack shook his head, "He looks so flamboyant that it's almost insane."

"Really?" Raf asked.

Guilmon nodded while Jack continued, "Makes it almost hard to think he came from a Devimon."

"I bet."

With Myotismons questionable wardrobe aside, the Tamers and Autobots were left with a dilemma, "So what do we do for now?" Raf asked.

"We find out if Optimus and Bulkhead are all right." Ratchet muttered as he pulled himself off the ground. During all the confusion, someone had knocked the poor medic out, which explained his sudden silence. It took a lot to shut the medic up.

"Right," Arcee nodded before activating her communicator, "Optimus, Bulkhead, do you read?"

Several seconds of static went by, making the group worry for a few seconds that the worse had come to pass.

_"Arcee? You there?" _the reassuring sound of Bulkhead's voice made everyone relax just a tad (something Arcee never thought she would think regarding the Wrecker).

"Yeah, we're here. How are you two?"

_"We're fine."_ the Wrecker sighed, _"Devimon's gone though."_

"Yeah..." Arcee sighed, "We noticed, he made a little stop here before vanishing."

She eyed the smoky ruin or Ratchet's terminal and shook her head, "But what about you guys? What happened?"

The others could hear the sound of Bulkhead grunting on his end, _"Scrap head fooled us again. Lead us on a wild goose chase through some sort of maze."_

"Before he vanished?" Arcee asked.

_"No, the maze! Had us running into a wall for ten minutes!"_

The others heard someone crack a small laugh when Bulkhead said that, and of course...it was Miko. They all gave her a look and she stopped.

"Sorry..." Miko muttered a small smile still on her face, "Just got an image of Bulk and Optimus running into a wall like a bunch of lab rats."

That actually got a few smiles out of everyone else too, "Okay that is pretty funny."

Miko smiled a bit bigger at that. No one could say that her sense of humor was completely dead, now could they? With her own smirk, Arcee quickly resumed her conversation, "Well, now that...that is out of the way, are you two heading back?"

_" Yeah."_ Bulkhead grunted, _"Just give us a minute or two and we'll be there."_

"Right, hurry back." Arcee ordered and the connection cut.

She then looked at Jack and the others, specifically their now oversized Digimon partners. Growlmon of course towered over her while Birdramon was Arcee's size. Of course.

With her hands on her hips, the femme looked them over, "Now, how are we going to get your Digimon to degenerate?"

_Later…_

"I still don't get it."

After Bulkhead and Optimus returned from their 'maze' problem and were informed of their situation, the team quickly went into status control concerning everything that happened. Such things were Ratchet repairing his console and retooling their equipment to find the new Ultimate level Digimon running amok. But one thing they all still had to deal with...was Fowler.

"How can a huge bird like that...become...that?" he asked, pointing at Biyomon.

"Because Birdramon and by extension Biyomon are nothing but data at their purest form." Yamaki stated. He'd stayed around purely because the helicopter was not coming back anytime soon. There was nothing more he could do to help with the situation. Nearly everything on Digimon was in HYPNOS's database, all of which was practically gone now. But that also meant that Yamaki was left explaining things to Fowler… great.

"So being able to shrink from a twenty foot tall fire bird into... a talking parrot is normal for them?" the agent asked.

Biyomon ducked her head in shame.

"It's okay Biyomon," Miko comforted the little Digimon while sending the agent a hefty glare, "He just doesn't have any taste in what's awesome."

Fowler was confused, "Wait what? What did I say?"

"Fowler, just try and keep your trap shut." Jack sighed, pinching his nose, "You'll only make things worse."

"Wait? What!?"

"_Anyway_." Jack suddenly announced, wanting to get the attention away from the agent.

And really, if he insulted Guilmon, Jack was not going to feel any worse if the Digimon bit Fowler on the behind in a fit of payback. He never really liked Fowler anyway, especially when he tried to hit on June. A woman far out of his league, something she'd even admitted to Jack. She only humored Fowler because it would create less drama. She had no intention of ever getting together with him though.

But that was a minor issue at the moment. The true issue was the fact that nowhere was safe for the group right now, "I think it would be best if we all stayed here for the night."

Miko and Raf both nodded, "That's actually a really good idea."

With Myotismon mostly active during the night, he could easily make a move on the teens while they were at home asleep.

"I'll just need to call my mom and tell her." Jack said while he reached for his phone. After all, June would likely freak out otherwise...and, he really should tell her about what was going on.

_'Oh, she is going to freak…'_ Jack thought.

He then paused, "Actually... Can she stay here too?"

After all, if the kids were in danger...well, better be safe than sorry.

The bots looked at each other for a moment and then looked at Optimus. The Prime gave a small shrug, "June is welcome here just as much as any of you."

"Alright, thanks." Jack said and dialed the number. June picked up a few moments later and Jack walked off to talk to her privately, leaving the bots alone.

"Well..." Bulkhead sighed, "This is a bit of mess, isn't it?"

They go from Decepticons, to Digimon, and now...they had another wannabe superpower running around with the urge to take over the world.

"A mess?" Arcee sighed. "This went past a mess when that scraphead fooled us with things he shouldn't have known in the first place. This is more of a complete and utter frag up."

"Yeah, that's pretty accurate." Raf sighed and leaned on the railing with a dejected look.

Terriermon cocked his head to the side, "Aw, don't be like that Raf. Momentai!"

Raf sent the little Digimon a smile, "I want to Terriermon, just...it's a bit hard right now."

The little Digimon's expression fell, "Aw, come on. What about this?"

Puffing his ears up a tad, Terriermon floated in front of Raf with a goofy expression on his face, "Momentai!"

That got a laugh not only out of Raf, but Miko and the others too.

"Hard to believe HE's your partner." the girl commented, "Being so energetic that is."

Still chuckling a tad, Raf gave the girl an odd look, "What's that suppose to mean?"

Miko shrugged, "I don't know. You just seemed more like the...nice a quiet type. Guess I expected someone as quite or as into computers as you."

Terriermon floated through air and turned toward Miko, "But quiet is boring, isn't it?"

"Won't argue there!" Miko agreed.

"Terriermon." Raf whined.

"What?"

The bots looked on as Raf let out a sigh, shaking his head at the little Digimon's antics. If they didn't know better, they would have thought that Raf and Miko's partners might have been switched at some point. Terriermon definitely could have passed for Miko's partner.

"Couldn't the same be said about you and Biyomon Miko?" Arcee pointed out, "You seem a bit...too much for her to handle sometimes."

"I try and keep up..." the Digimon said to herself quietly.

"Miko's definitely a handful, ain't she?" Bulkhead laughed.

"Bulkhead!"

"Oh, don't even try it Miko." Arcee crossed her arms, "How many times has Jack tried to keep you from rushing a into a ground bridge?"

The girl in question scratched her head and looked away, "...um, three...or five times?"

Everyone gave the teen a 'are you serious' look, "Really Miko? Really?"

"27." Jack called from the phone.

"Okay, not that many!"

"Huh, I thought it was 32." Arcee muttered, ignoring the girl's objection.

The local Wrecker shrugged too, "Mine was at 29."

"You guys are horrible!"

"I counted 30." Raf added.

"Funny Raf."

"I thought it was." Terriermon added his two cents into the conversation, much to Miko's displeasure.

The girl looked at her partner Digimon with an almost demanding look, "What about you Biyomon? What did you think?"

The little bird merely shrugged, "A bit...But I haven't been around enough to know how many times you've tried to sneak through."

"Thank you!" Miko replied happily.

"Eh, just stick around a bit longer and you'll be with the rest of us, pulling that girl out of the fire." Arcee said in deadpan. Miko glared at the femme, who looked about innocently.

"Well..." Biyomon mumbled, remembering how she had to save Miko...twice already. The girl did have a trend of getting herself in trouble...

"You guys suck." Miko pouted, crossing her arms.

Everyone laughed. It was a laughter that was short lived for the most part however, as everyone quieted down a bit when Jack returned with a slightly solemn expression on his face.

"Well, she's gathering some things and will call back in a few..." he muttered while flipping his phone shut.

However, Jack trailed off a tad when he noticed the grins on the others faces, "Did...I miss something."

"Nothing." Miko grunted.

"Just teasing Miko." Arcee grinned.

"Aw, and I missed out on that?"

"You guys are jerks..." Miko pouted, Biyomon comforting her partner as much as she could despite not really understanding what was going on.

Jack chuckled at that, "Oh come on Miko, we're just having some fun."

"Yeah, right." Miko huffed, "So, when is your mom coming? An hour or something?"

At that moment, a car horn sounded through the tunnel. Jack grinned nervously, "Right now actually."

The others looked on in quite a bit of shock when they saw June's car come rolling into the command center. A few stared at Jack in shock while Yamaki nervously readjusted his tie. He remembered the last encounter with June…

"How..." Raf murmured, "You just got off the phone..."

"How is she here already?!" Bulkhead finished, sharing the same confusion as the boy.

"She was already on her way to base to check up on me." Jack mumbled.

Everyone was struck silent for a moment, "Well...that's a bit convenient, isn't it?"

At least they didn't have to generate a ground bridge for the woman. Although...they could see a bit of embarrassment on Jack's face. Having caught his mother while on the way to check up on him...without telling anyone. It was incredibly embarrassing for him.

"Well, that was still a bit convenient for us." Arcee muttered.

"Yeah," Jack mumbled, "Convenient..."

An awkward silence filled the command center, with the present group not so sure of how to go from there. Luckily, with June parking not that far away from them, they didn't need to. Instead they watched as she popped out with a concerned look on her face.

"Jack!? Where's Jack!?"

The fact that the first thing June did upon exiting the car was asking for her son...didn't help with Jack's embarrassment. In fact, it just made it even worse.

"I'm here mom," he stepped out from behind Arcee (her leg had been subscribing the teen slightly), "Hey."

And then he was suddenly engulfed in a nearly rib crushing hug. Seriously, he could hear his injured torso groan and creak under the force of her hug. All the breath was knocked out of him in an instant

"Jack!" She yelled, hugging her son with all she had, "Sweety, are you okay? I was so worried after you called. Did anything happen!? Are yo-"

"MOM!" Jack yelled for more than one reason. Hell, it was more of a pained yelp really.  
June might be a nurse, and a damn good one, but in her rush, she had forgotten about her son's injuries for a brief second.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Ribs..." he wheezed, "Crushing... them..."

It took only about three seconds for June to realize what was going on, "OH!" she gasped, letting go of Jack just enough so she wasn't squeezing the life out of him anymore.

"I'm sorry sweety. I just...I got a bit worked up and I forgot. Are you okay? Did I hurt you or an-"

Jack stopped her while he tried to regain his breath, "I...its fine...Mom. Just... a little sore..." he gasped.

"I... Sorry." she apologized again.

Jack waved her off, "Its...it's alright." he sighed and winced, "Ah, just smarts a bit."

With Jack taking a moment to settle himself, the others tried to make the conversation a bit less...awkward. As much as they could anyway...

"So... Everything alright June?" Terriermon asked awkwardly from his perch on Raf's head.

Blinking slightly, June shook her head with a sigh, "Well, besides nearly crushing my son's spine in half-"

"Mom."

"And," June continued despite her son's comment, "That...'he' is back, everything is fine for the most part."

Bulkhead scratched his head,"Yeah, sorry bout that." he apologized, "Tricky devil pulled a few tricks on us..."

"Its fine," June waved off the bot's apology. Something that nearly made the Autobot's glitch upon hearing. June never waved off an apology when it came to something that could put her and the kids in danger. That just...wasn't possible.

"I've seen what something like he can do..." June sighed, some nasty memories flashing through her mind, "...and that doesn't surprise me that he managed to do that to you all. I'm more amazed you're all okay."

"We're a bit more experienced than last time mom." Jack insisted.

Despite that, June gave her son a knowing look, "Considering what happened 'last time' I think I deserve to be a bit worried hon."

Arcee raised a brow at that, "What exactly happened 'last time'? We keep hearing you say that but-"

Jack sighed, "You guys-" he started.

"-don't want to know," Arcee finished, and crossed her arms, "we get it."

"Well, it's true." June sighed, "What happened was... bad."

Everyone besides June, Jack, and Guilmon all had a bad feeling about that. Jack and Guilmon where one thing, but when June was telling you it was bad...it was bad. Hell, even Yamaki was telling them it was bad. But no one really knew him besides Jack, Guilmon, and June. So they didn't know how much to trust him.

"Like what?" the more curious asked.

June sighed, not use sure how to put this, "Let's just say...I was very busy at work when everything was over."

Dead silence. Everyone, even Terriermon and Biyomon knew what June's job was by that point. She was a nurse. She helped people when they were hurt or sick. And if she was busy when everything happened last time...that would mean...

"It's why..." Jack sighed, drawing the attention toward himself, "It's why I want to stop him, to stop Devimon. He...might be alone this time, without his minions. But a lot of the damage done last time was by him, alone. And...I don't want it to happen again."

"I won't let it happen again." he reaffirmed.

"Good thing you've got us then Jacky boy." Miko said with a lazy grin.

"Yeah," Raf nodded with Terriermon atop his head, "We're with you in this."

"And we'll slag this scraphead before he even puts one servo on anyone." Bulkhead declared, slamming his fists together with an audible 'clank'.

"Let's hope you can." Yamaki said, walking to the elevator, "I'll have HYPNOS searching the channels. See what we can find."

With the elevator's doors opening up for the tall man, Yamaki stopped at the center of the lift before looking back specifically at Jack, "We'll be sure to contact you upon discovering anything."

"Oh," Jack searched his pockets for a moment and pulled out his phone, "Don't you need my num-"

He froze and Yamaki smirked.

"You already have it, don't you?"

"We've had it for years Jack. Come on, you know us better than that." Yamaki was nearly scolding the teen for forgetting how much HYPNOS had.

An awkward silence followed before Jack sighed, "Good point."

"Glad we understand each other." Upon pressing the large red button on the inside of the lift, the elevator's doors began to close. But before the man was completely out of sight, the representative of the only Digimon focused organization removed his glasses for a brief moment and looked Jack straight in the eyes.

"And, we'll be in touch." And with that, the elevator closed on the man. Lifting him up and out of the Autobot's base to where his helicopter awaited him.

"Well." Arcee said, looking up at the ceiling, "He's an interesting character."

"Wait, was that Yamaki?" June asked, only just realizing who had left.

Jack nodded, and June cursed, "Darn, just missed him."

"Mom?"

"Oh, nothing sweety." June replied innocently.

Jack gave his mother a sideways look,"Right..."

For some reason, he felt that it was a good thing that Yamaki had left without talking to his mother. He had a feeling that she might not have forgiven him for what had happened in the past...like when he arrested Jack and Guilmon.

_'Maybe when he calls me at some point, I should give him a heads up.'_ the teen mused to himself.

It would be a good way to get on his good side. Anyone would be happy to be saved from getting his teeth knocked out. Or avoid whatever it was June had planned for the man.

"So anyway," he said, moving on from possible beatings, "Where are we sleeping?"

After all, Jack had a feeling that the bots wouldn't just let them sleep on that...one couch they had, or that his mother would be up to that either.

"Right." Arcee nodded, having gotten a strange feeling from June as well. It reminded her of when the mother got angry back during the Cybertron ordeal. Except back then she was just mad, now? It was more like a silent fury.

"I'm sure we can have some rooms set up for you, somewhere." She and the others thought for a moment when Optimus suddenly spoke up.

"There are human quarters used by the bases previous inhabitants." he stated, "I hope they will suffice."

Sure, the rooms weren't in the best condition (maybe even a bit dusty too from a lack of use), but they're surely was more than enough room for all of them.

"That'll work." Jack smiled and turned to his mother, "What do you think mom?"

"Yeah, that works." June nodded, not having a problem with that either, "Just have to clean them out first."

Miko groaned, "Cleaning? Really?"

Biyomon looked at her helplessly.

"Well, would you rather sleep on dirty, old beds than a clean one?" June asked the girl.

Miko shrugged, earning a small laugh from Bulkhead, "To be frank, Miko would sleep on a pile of dirt if she was tired enough."

"Hey!" the teen in question responded, "...only if I had a blanket."

"See?"

"Well, I won't sleep on dirt." June stated, "So we're cleaning them."

"Awwww!" Miko and Terriermon whined.

"Terriermon..." Raf sighed.

"What?" the little bunny Digimon shrugged, "It'd be like camping!"

"Have you even been camping before?" he asked, "And besides, this would be dust, not dirt. You'd be sneezing all night."

"Ah, it wouldn't be that bad." the little Digimon said dismissively.

Jack stared at him, "Are you _sure_ you weren't supposed to be Miko's Digimon?"

"Hey!" Both Miko and the Digimon yelled at the same time, neither one of them sure if that was an insult or not. Despite that however, June has let out a small laugh at the do, especially Terriermon.

"Come on little guy," she smiled, "What do you keep saying? Momentai?"

Terriermon crossed his arms and grumbled, "That is a very irritating thing to say to someone."

All the bots present, along with Jack, Raf, and Miko looked at the little Digimon with disbelieving look. Something that confused the rookie once he noticed it.

"What?" he tilted his head upon asking.

"..."

"What!?" he asked again.

"Nevermind."

Despite the frustrations from the others, June just giggled at the little Digimon. It was times like this that she really saw why Jack and the other kids enjoyed having the little creatures as partners.

"Alright," she announced, gather everyone else's attention, "Let's get going then. The faster we get to cleaning, the faster we can get to bed, alright?"

Miko and Terriermon groaned while the other humans and Digimon nodded, "Let's get a move on then!"

With Miko and Terriermon dragging along at the back of the pack, Arcee and the rest of the bots soon led the humans and their Digimon through one of the massive tunnels that made up the Autobot's base. It wasn't a very long walk (well, for the Autobots that is), but eventually the bots managed to find their way to the human sized accommodations. And like they had expected, the rooms weren't...that bad. A little barren sure, but that was it.

"Hmm," June examined the room with hands on her hips, "Well, it's no five star, but I can make it work."

At the moment, the kids would have believed that any normal person would have simply meant that they were going to dust the place a bit. Clean it up just enough for it to work. But upon noticing the little gleam in June's eyes, both Jack and Guilmon knew differently. This was June after all, who was to say that she was any more normal than her son?

With that in mind, Jack decided to take pity on Miko. He leaned over to her and whispered, "If you really don't want to clean, than run."

She blinked and stared at him, "What?"

"Run fast and far."

Miko looked at the boy as if he was crazy. This wasn't a Decepticon or a Digimon, this was his mother. Sure, Miko didn't like to clean, but he was making it seem like things were going to be insane. Unfortunately though, Miko would soon be proven very...very wrong on that front.

"Raf, dear." June turned to the boy and his Digimon, "Can you go ask one of the Autobots about where some cleaning supplies may be?"

"Ugh, sure Mrs. Darby." Raf said, and ran off down the halls.

Jack gave Miko a sad look. "Too late now..."

"What?"

_Later…_

"Well, that wasn't too bad, wasn't it?"

The entire room was spotless. The beds were made, not a single speck of dust remained, and the place actually looked squeaky clean. It was almost as if the place had just been cleaned by a team of maids or something. But in reality, it had just been three teenagers, three Digimon...and one middle aged woman.

And of course, June herself was the only one who still seemed active for the most part while everyone else...? They were all leaning on the beds, dead tired. Miko, Terriermon, and Guilmon in particular.

"That...was...awful.." Miko moaned. Terriermon leaned on the girls head.

"I'll say..." he then fell off her shoulder face first onto the bed.

Guilmon nodded too, not even having enough strength to speak. Instead, he just collapsed onto the floor in a huff. He was hungry, tired, and all he wanted to do at the moment was sleep.

"Oh come on you lot." June smiled at the trio, "You can't be that tired."

"Says you..." Terriermon mumbled, "I feel like I went ten rounds with Thundermon..."

"It wasn't that bad..." Jack admitted sheepishly. They all stared at him like he was crazy.

"What?" He shrugged. It wasn't his fault that he actually lived with his mother. He was far used to her antics by now, including just how serious she could be when it came to cleaning. He blamed it on her job of course. Being a nurse meant that she had to be neat and tidy when it came to cleaning up after people, so why wouldn't it follow her home as well?

"Dude... you are so weird." Miko wheezed, before falling onto the bed with Terriermon. Both of them were asleep in a matter of seconds.

"Those two..." Jack sighed.

"Yeah," Biyomon agreed. Still, that didn't mean she wasn't tired as well. In fact, since Terriermon had taken up residence for the moment with her partner, the bird had been sitting on Raf's bed at the moment too.

_'And to think.'_ Jack sighed, _'The bots were making jokes about that earlier too...'_

"Why don't we all just get some rest?" Jack suggested.

Raf yawned, "That sounds like a..." his eyes drooped, "Good idea..."

And with that, Raf collapsed back onto his bed. He was out like a light the moment his head hit the pillows. Biyomon did the same thing as well, although she merely sat backwards on the edge of Raf's bed and drifted off as well.

"Man..." Jack muttered, "They must have been beat."

"Long day." June said, something to which Jack nodded.

"Point there..." he then yawned too, "And tomorrow will be even longer, knowing my luck..."

Edging himself backwards, Jack lowered himself down onto his bed, careful to not make his wounds hurt anymore than they were. Guilmon followed this example as well by scooting himself across the floor until he reached his partner's bed.

"Don't be like that honey." June told her son, "You're just asking for it by saying those things."

"Well, it's true." Jack sighed. And with that, he flopped onto his bed.

"Night."

"Night honey," June smiled, "Night Guilmon."

The red Digimon let out his own yawn before flopping himself besides Jack, "Night..."

And with that, the duo was asleep. Their soft breathing being the only thing coming out of their mouths as June smiled at them.

"And to think, I normally worry that you might stay up too late." But with that all said and done, June sat on her own bed and scooted into place. She let out a yawn and quickly fell asleep as well. And it was a peaceful one at that. For while the situation surrounding the children had grown ever the more dire, June was just happy that they were safe for the moment...

However, such peace was not universal.

_Digital World…_

Alphamon stood in the sea of data, arms crossed, as he examined the intel he'd been given. And the longer he did that, the more he began to fume. His anger slowly grew from a dull annoyance, to a burning anger, and finally into a fearsome inferno of rage that consumed any and all logical process going on in the Digimon's skull.

"DIABOROMON!" His voice exploded like a star in shimmering light that surrounded and rolled off him. It decimated everything around him, reducing the data that swirled around him to nothingness. And when Alphamon was done, he stood in a void, along for a few brief seconds.

"You are loud..." a grim, sickly voice called out.

Looking up at the source of such a voice, Alphamon's eyes burned red. Standing above him while atop strange constructs of data, was Diaboromon, slithering around like the snake he was. He came to a stop a few feet away from Alphamon, his face expressionless as usual.

Alphamon ignored his comment and began to rant, "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP DEVIMON IN LINE, YOU DISGUSTING PARASITE!" he bellowed.

"I pointed him in the direction... he was meant to go… And you did choose him for the…task…" Diaboromon pointed out.

"YOU were in charge of keeping him under control, coordinating hid mission! And where are we now!?" Alphamon raged, furious, "We both know his line, what happens when they progress!" the Knight bellowed, "It is why we kept him as what he was! Why we did not grant him power that could truly destroy those fools in one attempt!"

He pointed an accusing finger at the virus,"BUT BECAUSE OF YOU! We now have yet another obstacle in our plan, no matter how minor it may be! ANOTHER Myotismon! And this one more powerful than ever before!" Finishing that, Alphamon panted tiredly.

"...Are you quite finished?" Diaboromon asked in a bored tone.

That nearly,_ nearly_ made Alphamon erase the viral Digimon on the spot. But luckily, the Knight had more control than that, so he merely just growled in response.

"If he troubles you so much..." Diaboromon sighed, "Why not just...kill him yourself? Even with his new power, he still pales in comparison to...either of us. It would be...child's play..."

Alphamon was silent, which incited a chuckle from Diaboromon.

"Or..." Diaboromon would have smirked if he could, "You see the potential in this."

Another growl from Alphamon, "Unfortunately."

Diaboromon let out a low, sickening laugh. Something that would have made Alphamon's ears bleed if he had any, "I'm...glad I'm not the only one who thinks so." the Viral Digimon smirked.

"And...you know what I would suggest we do...right?"

Alphamon sighed, something he felt was beneath him, "Nothing. You want to do, nothing."

"Exactly." Diaboromon breathed, "Let Myotismon...weaken them...for us..."

"And when the time comes, we will end them all at their weakest." Alphamon stated, and then a faint smile edged its way onto his voice, "Or rather, the others will for us."

"It's like you're reading my mind..." Diaboromon chuckled, much to his partner's disgust.

Still, Alphamon had to admit, it was a good plan. Either way the battle turned out, one side would be deleted while the other would be wipe for the pickings. Still, he did want to be more careful with the situation at hand. With a Myotismon, there was not telling what could happen. and Alphamon would rather not leave things up to chance like his cohort.

"Despite how...vile that sounds, I would like to add one little addition to this idea."

If Diaboromon had eyebrows, he would have lifted them, "Oh? And what is that?"

Alphamon did not reply, and instead turned away from the virus Digimon into the sea of data, "Antylamon, approach."

A tall slender figure appeared, cloaked in shadow. It kneeled down, "Yes my lord?"

"You know exactly what to do." Alphamon ordered with a flare of his luxurious cape.

"Of course my lord," the figure bowed, "It will be done."

With that said, the figure disappeared back into the stream of data from where it came from, leaving no trace of its original presence.

"What...was that about?" Diaboromon questioned.

"Insurance." Alphamon simply stated, "Unlike you, I do not reveal in chaos for the sake of chaos. I prefer to have a plan, just in case things go wrong."

And with a Digimon like Diaboromon involved, things could go wrong a lot.

"Clever." Diaboromon admitted.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand." Alphamon shot back.

Diaboromon narrowed his eyes for a moment, before his expressionless face returned. He turned around and began scaling the data, "Until next time...Alphamon..."

With that said, the viral Digimon crawled his way back up the streams of data, making Alphamon scowl at the monster. He vanished in the ever moving streams of data, disappearing from even Alphamon's eyes.

_'Like the insect he is...'_

It made the Holy Knight growl in disgust. Every time he saw that creature, his stomach twisted in disgust...

_'Only for a little longer...'_

Once his plan was fully set into motion, he'd never have to deal with that disgusting creature again. It was only a matter of time...

**A/N: And so we come to the end of yet another chapter. I'm going to continue for another few chapters, maybe to chapter 15 before I move on. But with that said, announcement time! Yes, it's time for another poll people. What's it for? Well you see, I have an uneven ratio of DC stories to Marvel stories and am seeking to correct it. That's right, a new story in the Marvel Universe, and like before, you get to vote on it! The choices are: Ironman, or rather Ironlad. Jack is the son of Tony Stark… and pretty much as intelligent but more deadpan and less snarky. Combines the first movie and season into one. The second is Hulk, self explanatory, the third Thor, and the fourth is Spiderman. I'll be posting a poll for that on my profile, and if you're curious on what the basic premise is before voting, PM me and ask. I'll answer. **

**Otherwise, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and remember to leave a review with critique and PM me with questions! Bye!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Mammoth Size Problem

_Earth, Autobot HQ…_

"Huh, is there anything those ears can't do?"

Morning came and went fairly quickly at the Autobot base. Nothing chaotic or insane for the most part, or at least nothing out of the ordinary. Even with the children, Digimon, and June living there for the moment, things were fine for the most part.

Or at least as fine as things could get around there. Terriermon, as per usual was causing a stir. But that was starting to become the norm with the little rascal. And what was it in this case that he was doing? Well...

"It still don't get how that's even possible..."

Sure, the bots and humans had seen the Digimon float with his ears. It was a fairly simple thing for the Rookie. But to float so high that he was floating through the rafters about their heads? That didn't seem possible at all.

"Come on Raf, we woke up with Miko using him as pillow..." Jack reminded him, "I don't think 'isn't possible' really fits with Digimon anyway."

He patted his partner on the head, "I mean, Guilmon and I combine into a thirty foot tall knight. I don't think 'impossible' would ever work when it comes to Digimon."

"...Point taken." Raf sighed. He looked up at his partner, "Terriermon, get down here!"

Despite Raf having to yell for the Digimon to even notice him, Terriermon looked down with a smile on his face. He didn't even care that he was floating several feet in the air above everyone's head. He was just having fun.

"Momentai Raf! Momentai!" the bunny Digimon cheered from on high, "I'm just having some fun!"

"I don't care!" Raf shot back, "Just get down here before you hurt yourself!"

"Aw come on!" Terriermon whined.

"Please Terriermon, come down!" Raf pleaded.

The bunny Digimon let out a reluctant sigh when he saw Raf's pleading face, "Okay..."

With his ears slowly shrinking down to their normal size, the little Rookie slowly started to descend back down to the ground, where Jack and Raf were waiting for him. Raf held up his hands as Terriermon fell closer to the ground

"I was just bored..." Terriermon apologized with a pout.

Raf sighed, "I know, I know," catching the little Digimon as he finally came floating back to the ground, "I was just worried is all."

"Momentai!" Terriermon told him.

Jack chuckled, "I think that's your catchphrase now Terriermon."

The Rookie gave Jack a bright look, "Really!?...What's a catchphrase?"

The duo let out a small sigh, "It's something a person tends to say over and over again, something they're known for saying. And little buddy, Momentai seems to be yours."

Terriermon blinked a few times before smiling widely, "Sweet!"

"Not...really sure if that's a good thing, but yep!" Jack muttered the first bit more to himself than anyone else, but smiled all the same.

Still, the little Digimon didn't seem to notice. He was too busy dancing around and changing his new 'catchphrase', "Momentai! Momentai! Momentai!"

"Oh great, he's like Guilmon now." Miko muttered.

The red Digimon looked up from the bread he'd been scarfing down with a hurt look, "Oh...um, no offense." the girl quickly noted, not wanting to hurt the Digimon's feelings.

Well...that and the fact that Guilmon tackled her and licked all over Miko's face the last time she did that. The rookie let off a little huff and looked back to his food, seemingly ignore Miko for the moment due to her comment.

"Smooth." Jack noted.

"Oh come on Jack!" The teen merely ignored the girl, causing Miko to huff.

Biyomon sighed and patted her partner on the leg for comfort, "There there Miko, it's alright."

Miko's pigtails drooped, "Not...helping."

Biyomon looked at her partner helplessly (A common look at this point) before sighing and leaning against the rail with her. It was going to be a long day.

_Later…_

And it was, a excruciatingly long day. For as the hours past, the others quickly found out a very simple thing Jack had been forced to deal with ever since he got hurt. The Autobot's base could be a bit boring during the day. Oh sure, when the bots were around things were nice and fun, but when they weren't? Well, things were just dull. The bots had patrols to deal with, scouting missions, and now they had to watch out for Digimon too.

Sure, the teens had their Digimon too, but even they got bored too.Watching TV and playing board games could only entertain someone for so long. And really, that wasn't that long to begin with. So it should come to no surprise that when a Digimon was detected, Miko practically cheered.

"Alright!" Miko shouted, hoisting Biyomon in the air due to her excitement, "Let's go kick some butt!"

The others just sighed at the girl's antics. Well, everyone but Terriermon at least. But he tried to hide his excitement better than Miko, if only slightly.He still cheered a little.

"Yeah, let's go!" he cheered before immediately silencing himself. Luckily for him, no one noticed. The little Digimon let out a sigh of relief.

"Miko," Jack sighed, "Can you try to be less excited when it comes to the evil Digimon who want us dead?"

The teen deflated just a tad, "Ah, don't be such a wimp Jack. it'll be awesome!"

But the looks she got made it clear that the others weren't as excited. She deflated further, "...you guys are no fun."

"No, we're just not crazy." Jack muttered.

June stepped up behind him, "Speaking of," she put a hand on his shoulder, "You are not going anywhere honey."

"What?!" Jack's head snapped toward his mother, who was standing just a few feet behind him, "Mo-"

"Jack," June crossed her arms at the teen, "You're still hurt. It'll still be a few days until you're fit to go anywhere."

"Mom..."

Sighing, the mother reached over and poker the boy gently in the ribs. It wasn't enough to hurt him of course, but she did get the reaction she wanted when Jack twitched at even the slightest poke.

"See? I'm fine..." he winced.

June put her hands on her hips, "You're not going anyway."

Jack sputtered in protest"B-but, what if they need me and Guilmon's help?"

The duo of tamers may have beaten Aquilamon on their previous outing, but Jack was still cautious. After all, now there was Myotismon out there as well, and there was no telling when he might try something.

"I think they can handle themselves." June replied firmly, "After all, there's two of them. They'll have twice the chance you did back when it was just you and Guilmon."

June had a point there, but Jack wasn't convinced that easily.

"Jack, Momentai!" Terriermon called from atop Raf's head, "We'll be fine! And we can just call you up if things get dicey!"

Sure, June would let Jack go even then, but at least then the teen could digivolve Guilmon and send him through or something. So, having been hit over the head with a bout of logic, Jack sighed and slumped into a chair.

"Fine, just be careful guys, okay?" he pleaded. He wasn't going to have his friends get hurt when he could easily prevent it.

Miko smirked at him, "Come on Jack, it's us."

"That's why I'm worried." Jack deadpanned.

Miko stuck her tongue out at the teen while the others just sighed and made their way over to Ratchet. The medic was still trying to get his console back up and running, and that had been doing well...for the most part. He'd gotten the scanner and bridge up and running and that was about it. The rest of the bots were either on patrol or scrounging for parts for Ratchet to use at the moment.

"Ratchet, where exactly is this Digimon?" Raf asked, squinting his eyes in a attempt to see through the complicated data running down Ratchet's monitor.

"Hmm?" he asked before the question registered. He looked at the terminal and frowned,"Oh, its... huh, odd. It's near Las Vegas."

"Vegas?" Raf questioned, him and the others feeling how strange that was too.

Most of the Digimon they had encountered before were at more isolated or far off places. But Vegas was not only _heavily_ populated, but it just seemed odd that a Digimon would show up there of all places.

"That's where the signature is coming from." Ratchet confirmed.

"Sweet!" Miko whooped, "I've always wanted to go to Vegas!"

"Miko." Biyomon reminded her, "We won't be there for sigh seeing, we'll be there fighting the Digimon."

Stopping her little cheer for the moment, Miko shrugged, "I know! It's just going there is going to be awesome! I haven't been to a _real _city ever sense I got here."

"Oh, well thanks for sparing our feelings." Jack muttered.

Moving on from that however (with Miko completely missing what Jack had said), Ratchet made his way over to the Ground Bridge controls (which were undamaged, unlike his console) and quickly began to set the concordances for where the Digimon had appeared. Still, the idea of there being a Digimon in Vegas of all places made Jack wince at one very important...and annoying detail.

"Fowler is going to flip at this..." It really made Jack wish he had ear plugs.

"You think Fowler will flip, how do you think Yamaki's gonna react?" June mumbled.

"My ears fear Fowler..." Jack shivered, "But Yamaki? Well, that just depends on how bad it'll get..."

If Miko and Raf manage to get rid of the Digimon fairly quickly, it may not be too bad. But if things get out of hand? Well...Jack was glad that man never removed his sunglasses. Otherwise... Well in simple terms? Shit would get real.

Luckily neither Raf nor Miko knew about that. Though that might have been not so lucky. Still, the repercussions of such a battle going on in Vegas were quickly put aside when the Ground Bridge sprang to life.

"All right!" Miko cheered, "Let's get going!"

Grabbing Biyomon by the wing, Miko quickly made a dash toward the portal while Raf and Terriermon followed at a much calmer pace.

"Try not to freak anyone out!" Jack warned the duo, "You don't want the police on your tails."

Once again, Jack unfortunately knew what that was like in his...earlier days. He and June both did. Hey, a giant dragon in the middle of Jasper _did_ sort of stick out.

"Yeah yea, we got it Jack!" Miko called as she ran to the portal.

"I'll try to keep her under control!" Biyomon promised.

"Good luck with that..." Jack muttered with everyone else pitying the bird Digimon. She had her work cut out for her.

Still Raf pretty much said the same thing as well, "We'll try to make sure nothing bad happens."

And with that, both Terriermon and Raf also ran through the portal while Jack, his mother, and the remaining bots watched.

"You think they'll be okay?" June asked.

Jack watched the portal spiral shut, "They're tamers. I think they can handle it."

After all, both Miko and Raf had proven themselves at least twice already with their partners. And as long as it wasn't something too insane, he did have a feeling that they would be alright. He just...well, with Digimon Jack had the tendency to worry…

_Vegas…_

"Why are there so many lights?" Biyomon asked as they wandered through the crowded streets of Vegas. No one questioned the Digimons presence because frankly... Well it was Vegas. Between the thousands of neon lights, dozens of street performers, and just the odd people wandering the streets… the two Digimon didn't really stick out.

Most just figured that they were stuffed animals or something and the other ideas were...strange at the least. Still, it did allow the teens to walk around with their Digimon without being questioned.

"It's just how Vegas works Biyomon," Miko smiled at the scenes around her, "People call it the Entertainment Capital of the World for a reason."

Biyomon clenched her eyes at the many neon lights that surrounded the city, "I don't think this is very entertaining." she said.

"I'll have to agree with Biyomon." Terriermon mumbled, "This place is weird!"

"Oh really?" Miko sent the two Digimon a look, "And you don't have any strange places from where you come from?"

"Well..." Biyomon twiddled her claws, "...I don't really know...but I don't think we have any places like this."

"Nothing this bright!" Terriermon added as well.

"It's like were walking on the sun!" he covered his eyes with his ears and buried his head in Raf's hair.

Miko gave him a look to which Raf just shrugged, "It's Terriermon, what'd you expect?"

Miko shook her head, "Should have brought him some sunglasses."

It would have shut him up for a little bit, and it would have been even a bit cute too. Seeing that little Digimon with black sunglasses on... Still, they did have a reason for being there...even if Miko had nearly forgotten it by that point.

And after a few minutes of walking, Terriermon brought this up, "So, where is this bruiser?" Terriermon asked.

That made the group stop in the middle of the sidewalk, much to the annoyance of passing pedestrians. They didn't actually_ know_ where the Digimon was. When it came to things like the Hoover Dam, finding the Digimon was easy. But with a city as large as Vegas...with so many people, so many places to hide. They had no idea where it was, or where they could find it.

"Scrap." Miko cursed, "Where do we look for a Digimon? We don't even know what level it is!"

They had nothing. The four only had one piece of information at the moment, that there _was_ a Digimon in Vegas. But other than that? They had nothing.

"Um..." Terriermon looked around while atop Raf's head, "Maybe we should start calling for it or something?"

"Terriermon?..."

"What? It could work."

Raf sighed, "Idon't think-"

Miko clamped her hand over Raf's mouth, "Shhh! There it is!"

Following the girl's hand, Raf and the two Digimon were pointed across the street. With everyone who was walking though the street, it was a bit hard to notice the creature at first. But upon closer inspection, the four could clearly tell that it was a Digimon. Sure, it wasn't utterly huge...but it surely was strange enough to be a Digimon. But in Vegas, that wasn't that hard...

_'That's why it's in Vegas!_' the team realized, _'It could blend in here!'_

"What is it exactly?" Raf whispered back.

Miko pulled out her Digivice, "Uh, let's see..."

A moment later, her eyes went wide, "Uh oh. Andromon, Ultimate Android Digimon. It follows its programming to the letter, and its Gatling Missile can level a city block!"

Just by looking at the Digimon, the trio could easily see why the Digimon had that name of all things. It was massive, towering even the adults that it passed. It might not have been Devimon's height, but it was still large. And with most of its body besides its right leg, a portion of its left arm, and its lower head being made of metal, the group could see why it was a Android.

Still, that wasn't what the problem was...that was its level. It was an Ultimate, which was a level beyond what Terriermon and Biyomon could reach. It outclassed them.

"I think we should call Jack..." Raf told Miko.

"What? Why?" she demanded, her eyes never leaving Andromon.

"Miko, he's an Ultimate! He's way out of our league!"

"Oh come on," Miko scoffed, "We don't need Jack! We can take this guy!"

Glaring at the Digimon, Miko even laughed, "I mean...look at him! He doesn't seem so tough!"

In fact, the Ultimate wasn't even doing anything. It was just standing there...that was it. Oh, he occasionally looked around, as if examining things for some reason, but besides that… he was utterly still.

Raf frowned, "I don't know Miko... Maybe we should try talking with him at least first."

"What?!" Miko looked at Raf as if he had grown two heads, "You can't be serious! This is our chance, to get him while he's unaware!"

They would never get another chance like this! With Andromon just standing there, he was ripe for the picking!

"But Miko... look at him. He's not causing any trouble. Remember Aquilamon and how he was causing chaos?"

Miko was silent.

"And look Andromon is just standing there harmlessly. Maybe he just stumbled onto a portal and came here by accident." Raf reasoned with the girl, "It's possible, isn't it?"

Despite how excited she was...Miko couldn't disagree with that. She did remember what that Dokunemon had told her, how he had been chased through a portal instead of simply coming through it to make trouble. And then there was Devimon and Aquilamon… Fact was Miko didn't want to trust a wild Digimon when they'd shown her nothing but trouble so far.

"Let's just give it a chance...okay?" Raf pleaded with big brown eyes.

Miko sighed, "Dang it Raf. You're turning into a mini-Jack."

The boy walked by her and gave a shrug, "Is that such a bad thing?"

Miko huffed, "It is when you're being a fun killer..."

Raf tried to ignore that and instead continued to move forward, "How about this, me and Terriermon will go over there and talk to him while you and Biyomon be ready in case something goes wrong, okay?"

Despite the situation turning into a negotiation mission, Miko grinned at that, "All right! We got your back!"

"Ugh huh. Right." Raf mumbled and made his way to getting closer to him though, he noticed just how tall he was... and big...

"...This may not have been such a good idea Terriermon..." he whimpered quietly.

"Momentai..." Terriermon whimpered as well. Still, the Digimon hadn't done anything yet either...so for the moment, the duo were in the clear.

"Um...hello?" Raf asked, stopping just a few feet away from the Machine driven Digimon.

Andromon stiffened before looking over and down at the small boy, his insides creaking and whirring as he did. He cocked his head to the side in curiosity.

"Hello." he greeted kindly.

_'Well...'_ Raf inwardly gulped, _'So far...so good.'_

Stealing himself, Raf took a deep breath and looked up at the tall Digimon, "...Um, my name is Raf and this is my friend Terriermon... And..if you...don't mind me asking sir, but...why are you here?"

Andromon cocked his head to the side, before giving a friendly smile, "Well, human, I came here to protect the other humans."

Raf blinked, "What?"

"Why, yes." Andromon nodded, "And from you and the companion you have, I infer that you are here for a similar purpose?"

Raf and Terriermon were just so...well, dumbstruck at what they had been told that they couldn't manage a audible response. Instead, the teen merely nodded.

"But...why?" Terriermon asked. He'd yet to meet a friendly Digimon besides Guilmon and Biyomon.

"It is my duty." Andromon straightened up, "The protection of the innocent is what I was programmed to do. And I refused to let anyone, human or Digimon, fall to harm."

Raf and Terriermon were just struck silent from that. The Digimon spoke like its name, a machine...but a Digimon that had been programmed to protect people, both human and Digimon?! They didn't even know that was possible.

Raf even sent Terriermon a look, but the little Rookie just shrugged. He didn't have any idea about this either. However, before Raf could manage a response, he felt a small rock hit him in the back of the head.

"Ow..." the teen rubbed the back of his head and turned around, spotting Miko, who was giving him a 'So!?' type of look.

Raf looked from Miko back to Andromon and then back to Miko.

_'He's friendly!'_ he mouthed to her.

That seemed to surprise Miko. A lot. In fact, despite being on the other side of the road, Raf, Terriermon, and (he was pretty sure at least) Andromon could hear her when she screamed

"WHAT!?"

Raf just let out a sigh then, watching as the girl marched her way over to the trio with Biyomon trailing frantically behind her.

"You can't be serious!" she demanded as she approached, "You mean it-"

"He," Raf corrected.

"HE is a good guy!?"

"Yep!" Terriermon nodded, a bit more excited about the whole thing despite his shock, "He said it himself!"

Miko glared at the Digimon, still unsure, "And how do you know that HE isn't pulling your strings?"

"Why would I lie?" Andromon asked with no sign of deceit in his voice, "I came here searching for a vile Digimon who would bring harm to the human world. That is my objective."

Now that caught everyone's attention. This Digimon had come to their world...while searching for another Digimon?

"You're searching for another Digimon?" Biyomon asked, just as surprised as the rest.

"Yes." Andromon nodded, "I was pursuit of this vile Digimon until I lost tract of him in this location. I am now in the process of relocating him. Please, will you help me? He's mere presence is a danger to this world."

Raf and Miko exchanged looks, "Ugh...can you give us a moment?" Miko asked.

Andromon gave a bow and Miko promptly pulled Raf away.

"Raf, I don't trust this guy..." the girl informed the teen with a furrowed brow, "What if this is all just a trick? What if he's _working _with this other Digimon?"

Raf nearly smiled at this, Miko...MIKO was concerned about walking into a trap. It was almost surreal.

Still, her paranoia seemed unfounded, "Miko, did he sound like he was trying to trick us?"

"Well... no." she admitted sheepishly.

"And, what if there is another evil Digimon out there?" Raf asked again, "Don't you think we could use the help? Especially if he is wanting to help find him? I mean, Jacks out of commission right now, but Andromon IS an ultimate level Digimon."

Miko looked unsure of herself. After all, the Digimon they'd met so far (Partners excluded) weren't exactly the nicest folks. Devimon, Dokunemon, Aquilamon...all of them had wanted to kill them for more than one reason...

Still, Raf noticed the girl's unsure look and pleaded with her, "Come on Miko, give him a chance...he seems serious."

After all, no other Digimon had actually said such things before. Before now, all Digimon that they met had tried to kill them outright...but this one seemed different!

Miko let out a deep sigh, "Fine. He gets one chance."

Raf smiled brightly at that. He was more than happy to end a meeting with a Digimon without violence for once! Turning around to face the massive Digimon again, Raf smiled along with Terriermon at Andromon.

"We'd like to help you Mister Andromon, but...what Digimon are you after anyway?"

Andromon opened his mouth to respond. And then three cars went flying past the group, followed by a crowd of panicking civilians. The cars exploded into the ground and the entire earth began to shake beneath the feet of the Digimon and their Tamers.

Surprisingly, Andromon remained standing and looked towards a nearby building "That would be him. Mammothmon."

And Mammoth was right.

Stomping right out of yet another street was a massive Digimon. It had the shape and the size of a real Mammoth, but like most Digimon, it was a bit more than that. For starters, the Digimon's face was covered in a massive metal mask that started at the top of its head and ended at the end of its trunk. Along with that was also a pair of _massive ears_! They were so huge that it looked like they belonged to Dumbo or something. And the Digimon itself was taller even than Optimus. Practically ten stories high!

Miko and Raf gaped, "THAT'S who you've been chasing!?"

"Indeed." Andromon nodded, not even sounding a tad bit surprised at the monster's appearance, "He has been rampaging in the digital world for some time now, and now that he is here, I wish to finally stop him before more innocents are brought to harm."

He looked at the two tamers, "Will you help me?"

"Yes." Raf said with hesitation

"Wait a minute!" Miko yelled, obviously not trusting Andromon still.

"What exactly are you going to do AFTER we deal with ugly over there!?" She questioned, pointing at Andromon and Mammothmon respectively.

Andromon looked down at Miko at that, "After Mammothmon and any other local threats have been taken care of, I plan to return to the digital realm and continue my mission to defend everyone that I may find possible."

There was a loud crunching sound, "But for now, Mammothmon is my priority." the Android noted just as the massive beast...crushed a bus with one of his legs.

That was the final straw, as Andromon dashed forward to engage the massive beast.

Raf looked at Miko, "You coming?"

She crossed her arms, "I still don't trust him."

Raf, Terriermon, and even Biyomon sighed at that. The girl was just too stubborn...

"Well, we can deal with that after we-"

**-TUSK CRUSHER-**

The sound of two powerful forces clashing quickly drew the group's attention. Mammothmon had tried to impale Andromon with its massive tusks, but the Android had managed to grab the tusks before impact and force them back, if with a noticeable amount of effort on his part. He strained and grunted, but remained firm.

"...after we deal with the OTHER Digimon!"

"Grrr... FINE!" Miko growled.

She spun her digivice out into her hand, "Let's send mammoth breath back to the ice age!"

**-DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE-**

-BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TO!-

-TERRIERMON DIGIVOLVE TO!-

Both Digimon were engulfed in digital eggs as the change took place once again

**-GARGOMON!-**

-BIRDRAMON!-

With their evolutions done and complete, the two newly digivolved Champions leaped into action.

Gargomon took a more direct route and launched himself towards the battling Ultimates. Both Andromon and Mammothmon were still locked in a stalemate, but that was soon settled when Gargomon landed on Andromon's shoulders and pointed one of his arms at Mammothmon's face.

**-GARGO PELLETS!-**

The green energy bullets quickly pelted the massive Digimon's face, staggering the Ultimate just enough for Andromon to lift the massive creature upward...just in time for Birdramon to come swooping in from the skies.

**-MACH GRINDER!-**

She slashed at Mammothmon with her nasty talons, leaving thin gouges in the Ultimate's thick skin. Unfortunately, neither of these attacks really hurt Mammothmon. They did, however, piss the thing off.

**-FREEZING BREATH!-**

Ice spewed from Mammothmons tusk, hitting Gargomon and freezing him solid. The Digimon went flying from Andromons shoulders and crashed into the ground, where he lay frozen in his block of ice. Raf cried out and ran to his partner.

The enraged Ultimate wasn't done there however.

When Birdramon came around for another attack, the Mammoth's massive trunk shot into the air and tangled itself around the bird's body like a snake. It then began to squeeze the Champion, earning a pained squawk from Birdramon as she felt her body being crushed in the Ultimate's grasp.

"BIRDRAMON!" Miko screamed in horror with what she was seeing.

But before Birdramon was crushed in Mammothmon's grasp, Andromon swung one of his arms back and yet out a surprisingly angered yell.

**-LIGHTNING BLADE!-**

His robotic limb shifted into a long sparking blade, which he used to slash off Mammothmons left tusk. The massive Digimon let out an enraged trumpeting roar and flung Birdramon aside. The bird Digimon slammed into a nearby sky scraper, and fell to the street below, where she left a sizable crater. A moment later, she degenerated into Biyomon, battered and broken from the impact.

"Biyomon!" Miko screamed, before running towards her partner while Andromon fought the enraged Mammothmon. A spectacle in itself

Andromon fought tooth and nails against the massive Mammothmon, punching the creature left and right with his massive metal fists. However, due to Mammothmon's overwhelming size, the Digimon had the advantage in this fight, throwing its weight around and nearly sending the Android flying multiple times.

In the background however, Miko had ran over to her Digimon and held her tight, "Biyomon...wake up! Please..."

The bird let out a painful moan and cracked one of her eyes open, just barely looking around, "Miko...?"

"Right here partner," she said quickly. The pained tone in her partners voice broke her heart.

"...Are you...okay?"

"Me?" Miko let out a very nervous chuckle, "I'm fine, more than fine. But what about you? How are you doing?"

Biyomon tried to respond, but they were interrupted when Andromon was flung into a nearby building for a brief few seconds before stomping his way back out like it was nothing before engaging the other Ultimate once again.

"...I've been better..."

"We'll get you back to base." Miko promised, "You can rest and Jack and Guilmon can handle this. Okay?"

Biyomon gave a weak nod, "Okay...that sounds good..."

Miko let out a relieved smile, "Alright, let's get you out of here. On three. Ready?" Biyomon nodded.

"1... 2... 3!" Immediately Biyomon let out a pained yell.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Miko quickly yelled, worried that she might have hurt her friend.

"It...it's not you..." Biyomon whimpered, "My...my...leg..."

Taking a brief second to look down at her partner, Miko winced when she saw a very dark mark on Biyomon's leg. It must have gotten damaged when Mammothmon sent her flying.

"Can you walk?" Miko asked, unsure if she bare with hearing her partner yell like that again.

"I...I don't know..." Biyomon briefly put some weight on her leg and immediately grimaced in pain.

"Scrap!" Miko cursed.

Right as Andromon came crashing by them again. The Digimon and her partner were just far enough away to avoid any injuries, but they were just feet away from Andromon as he came crawling out of the hole he had made.

But surprisingly, besides some scratches and cuts, the Ultimate Digimon looked relatively fine despite getting thrown around like a rag doll. Shaking the dirt off his head, Andromon noticed the two standing at his side and turned to them, momentarily taking his attention away from his foe.

"Are you two injured?" he asked.

Miko looked at Andromon worriedly, "We're fine." she told him.

"Miko..." Biyomon tried to scold the girl, but her injuries weren't letting her.

Andromon looked at the bird Digimon, "She is injured. Please, allow me to assist."

"No, its fine-" Miko shook her head.

Andromon would not take no for an answer though. Upon climbing out of the rumble he had created, the Android Digimon took a knee and reached out to the girl and her Digimon, beckoning to help them.

"Please, allow me to assist you."

"STAY. BACK!" Miko ordered angrily.

Now Biyomon scowled, "Miko, what is your problem!?"

The teen looked down at her partner in shock. But all Miko saw was a look of disappointment in Biyomon's eyes.

"He's trying to help us! And he saved me-" the rookie scowled Miko before wincing for a moment, "Why are you being so mean to him?!"

"We don't know that!" Miko yelled back, "How do we know this isn't some plot!? I mean look at him!"

Andromon blinked, "My appearance...frightens you?"

Miko's eyes shrank and she looked away, "NO! No, I...I'm not..."

Miko couldn't help it. Despite how nice he seemed, Andromon appeared to be just another dangerous Digimon. The only nice of their kind that she had seen so far was Guilmon, Terriermon, and of course, Biyomon. How could she trust something like him? Especially when it came to their world like the ones that had tried to kill them over and over again?

"Miko, what is the problem?" Biyomon demanded, ignoring her pain.

"I don't trust him, okay! You and the others are the only good Digimon we've met. There's no way a guy like Andromon can be as good as you are!"

It sounded petty. It sounded disrespectful. But in truth, it's all Miko knew when it came to Digimon. Out of the numerous Digimon she had met, there were only three that she knew that she knew she could trust...so how could they really suspect her to trust him that easily!?

"I apologize." Andromon told Miko, ignoring Biyomon's glare for the moment, "I did not mean to cause you any discomfort."

"Just...stay away from us." Miko mumbled, holding her partner protectively.

There was a loud crash and an explosion that cast long shadows across the ground. Andromon looked to see Mammothmon approaching, "I fear I cannot. You are still in danger from Mammothmon."

With the massive Ultimate charging the trio like a charging elephant, Miko held Biyomon closely. She wanted to run, but the gigantic monster was just...too shocking for her. She was frozen in place, unable to move. Before the massive Digimon was upon them however, Miko and Biyomon were shocked to see Andromon standing in front of them with his arms spread out.

"Stand behind me." he told the duo, "I will not let any harm come to you."

"What..." Miko barely said, before Mammothmon charged into Andromon.

"GAGH!" the android yelled as he was shoved back, yet he held firm against the Ultimate Digimon despite the protests of his entire being.

Miko watched with shock as Andromon selflessly held the Digimon back. She could hear his body creak, the metal just barely capable of holding the massive Digimon. Sure, the duo might have been the same level, but Mammothmon was just too large for even one like Andromon. And yet...he was protecting them. Instead of simply avoiding the Digimon's attack, he was just...standing there, taking it all. So they could live…

_'But...'_ Miko inwardly muttered, her thoughts swirling, _'...I thought...'_

She'd though for some reason that Digimon that didn't have tamers were inherently chaotic and evil. Devimon was, look at what he did to Jack. Dokunemon was too, and Aquilamon. But Andromon was protecting them... Keeping them safe...

"Please...run..." Andromon groaned as his body creaked.

Miko was shaken from her thoughts along with Biyomon, both of which looked up at the Digimon in surprise.

"My...body...can't sustain...this effort." Andromon warned them, his voice showing the same strain as his body, "Please...escape...while you...can..."

Miko blinked a few times as his words hit home.

"R-right..." she said and gently lifted Biyomon. Making sure she didn't touch her partner's injury, Miko slowly tried to distance herself from the two struggling Ultimates.

"Miko..." Biyomon tried to object to this, "Wait...we need to..."

Miko stopped, "What?"

"We need to...help...him..."The girl's eyes widened any looked at the Digimon like she was crazy!

"Biyomon...we can't..."

Not only was Biyomon hurt, but they already tired to help. Birdramon was tossed aside like nothing, and that was the best thing they had at the moment. And with Gargomon still out of the picture, what could they really do to help the Android?

"But we can't just...leave him..." Biyomon protested. Miko looked from her partner to Andromon. She didn't know what to do. She had no idea what to do!

"I...I don't..." Miko muttered, her mind spinning like a top. If they just left the Ultimate, he was surely going to lose...and it was her fault. He spent his strength defending them. And here she was...just running away...

_'What kind of tamer am I?_' she thought to herself, _'I'm running away like a coward and leaving a Digimon to die...'_

Miko looked at her partner, _'I don't deserve Biyomon...'_

Her hands tightened, holding the injured Digimon even closer. She was acting like a coward, a pathetic little coward. What would the others think of her if they saw her? Jack? Guilmon? Arcee? Bulkhead?... This wasn't her...this wasn't the Miko they knew. This wasn't the Tamer Miko knew!

_'No!'_ she furiously shook her head, _'I'm not a coward! I'm not! I've faced worse things in the past, and I'm _NOT_ going to run away from this!'_

"Miko?" Biyomon asked weakly.

"Hold on Biyomon, we're not giving up. Not yet." she set the bird Digimon down and began looking through her deck of Digimon cards.

_'In hindsight, I should have looked at these first.'_ she thought embarrassingly.

With the Digimon the group had been encountering until now, there hadn't been a need for the cards so far. But considering what they were up against and with the short time on their hands, Miko figured that this was the best option she had.

"Come on..." she muttered, "Where...I need something...something good..."

"Ah!" she smiled, "This should work!"

**-DIGI-MODIFY!-**

Gripping her card in her hand, Miko dragged the card across the card reader portion of her digivive. Sparks exploded as the two surfaces touched, energy emerging from the reaction...

**-EXECUTE:REGENERATION!-**

"Come on Biyomon!" Miko grinned, "Let's get back in the game!"

The injuries on Biyomon faded and she hopped to her feet, "Yes! It worked!"

Watching her partner slowly test out her wounded leg, Miko let out a sigh of relief. Sure, she had read the cards before, but this was the first time Miko ever actually tried to use one. It was a gamble, as Miko wasn't exactly certain that the card would have worked. But thankfully, it had.

"Miko!" Biyomon called at the teen, "Let's do this!"

"Alright, time to digivolve again!"

**-DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE-**

**-BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TO!-**

**-BIRDRAMON!-**

The massive Champion landed on the ground, wings flaring as she let loose a massive screech. The damage that Mammothmon had done to her had completely vanished, and she was ready to go back at it. Still, Miko couldn't help but wish they had more power. Birdramon had gotten demolished before, and it could happen again if they weren't careful...

"If only..." Miko muttered, holding her digivice tight. Still, they had to help Andromon now. Wishing wouldn't do anything.

"Birdramon, go help Andromon!" Miko ordered.

"Right!" the champion squawked and took off into the air towards Mammothmon.

Rushing toward the two struggling Digimon, Birdramon wisely took a different strategy than she pulled last time. Instead of rushing at the massive Digimon with her talons, Birdramon soared around and faced the exposed back of the massive Mammoth.

**-METEOR WING!-**

With her wings flapping back and forth, a gigantic wave of fire exploded forth and and slammed into the Ultimate's exposed hide. It wasn't much, but it was enough to distract Mammothmon.

"Wha-Hey!" he yelled as Andramon used his strength to flip him onto his side. The entire area shook as the elephant crashed into a nearby building. Glass showered the area and the building sagged backwards. The Digimon lay there for a few moments before he began to slowly move. Flipping himself back onto his feet, the massive Ultimate looked up at the sky and spotted the source of his annoyance.

Rearing up his trunk, Mammothmon prepared to strike the flying Champion with the same attack that froze Gargomon like an ice cube.

**-FREEZING BRE-!-**

However, before he could even finish his sentence, Mammothmon felt a strong and metallic hand grab his trunk and rip it downward. Nearly falling forward due to this, Mammnothmon was forced to look straight into Andromon's eyes. But once this happened, the Ultimate also noticed the two openings on the machine's torso...

"Uh oh..."

**-GATLING ATTACK!-**

And was hit with a barrage of missiles that exploded against his thick leathery hide. Andromon released Mammothmons trunk, allowing the Digimon to rear back in pain, smoke poured from his wound and his mask was cracked and shattered. With his underbelly exposed, Andromon opened fire on the weaker section of the mammoth, pounding him with explosives.

"NO!" the Digimon cried out and then fell over, data spilling from its midsection.

Andromon's torso closed once again, smoke streaming out of the Android as he watched the massive Digimon flap around on the ground like a wounded animal. In fact it was, its data spilling out like the life force that it was...

But as the giant was reacting to the deadly wound, Andromon took a moment to look over at Miko, a small smile on his face, "Thank you for the assistance."

Miko returned it, "Ah, well. Couldn't let you have all the credit, could I?"

Andromon gave a nod and they both watched as the Digimon slowly dissipated. His data trickled away like a stream of water and his body began to fall apart. Birdramon landed next to Miko and began preening herself as the Ultimate slowly vanished. The last of its data vanished into the air.

Miko looked up at the sky, ignoring the ruined section of Vegas for now. Her hand tightened on the Digivice, "That's another one down." she muttered. How many more would come though… she had no idea. All she knew for sure was that they wouldn't beat her, or Biyomon, or Raf, or Terriermon, or even Andromon.

They would fight till the end. That was for sure.

**A/N: So what'd you guys think? Myotismon and the others will reveal themselves eventually, but had to add in a little filler. Hope you liked it, let me know via review and PM with questions.**

**With that said, I have one little thing to point out. Some may have noticed I changed the poll for my next crossover, replacing Hulk with Ben 10. Well there's a reason for that. After talking with Ultimate 10, he gave me his blessing to write my own version of a TFP/Ben 10 crossover where Jack gets the Omnitrix and shenanigans ensue. If you're interested in what I have planned but already voted, go ahead and vote anyway. I made it so you can vote twice now if you want. And if you need more info, PM me.**

**Otherwise, as said earlier, review with critique and PM with questions. Bye!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Breather

_Las Vegas Nevada…_

"Miko, do you think we should go help out Gargomon now?" Raf asked, looking nervously at his partner. He was still stuck in that giant ice cube with a surprised look on his face.

"Yeah, thaw him out Birdramon." Miko nodded.

Returning the nod, Birdramon approached the frozen Gargomon. Raf backed away and looked at her hopefully, "Can you help him?"

"Of course." Birdramon nodded gently at the boy.

With Raf at a safe distance, Birdramon took a deep breath and unleashed a very gentle version of her 'METEOR WING' attack. This unleashed a gentle wave of fire onto the ice block, melting it slowly without the risk of harming the one inside.

It took a few minutes to pass of course, but eventually all of the ice was reduced to a small puddle on the ground around Gargomon. The large bunny let out a tired sigh and rested on the ground.

"I feel like an ice cube." he whined.

"You _were_ an ice cube." Birdramon reminded him.

The Champion sat there for a moment or two before he realized something very important, "Wait!"

"Wheres big and ugly!?" he asked, shooting upward with both of his arms extended.

"Data." Birdramon informed him, "You're just a few moments late."

Gargomon pouted, "Aw man! I miss all the fun!"

Birdramon and Miko shared a look, "Fun...right..."

That was a type of fun that they were okay with _not_ having again anytime soon, which the others would have found quite numerous if they knew about it due to her normal antics. Raf looked past them at Andromon.

"What about him?" With the Ultimate Digimon taken care of, there was the question of what the Android would do next.

"Yeah." Miko also asked, "What's next for you, big guy?"

Andromon looked down at Miko. "I will continue my objective of protecting the innocent. I cannot return to the digital world yet, so I will protect humans the best I can."

Miko and the others looked at each other for the moment. While they were all now aware of the Digimon's good intentions, they couldn't just let him walk around Vegas freely now. So, that left them with one simple question they could ask him.

"Well, why don't you come with us then?"

Andromon cocked his head to the side again, "I could never do that. I wouldn't want to be a burden."

"Nonsense, we'd love to have you back at base!" Miko assured him.

Sure, Ratchet was likely going to have one of his...reactions, but other than that having the Android join them back at the base would be great! After all, not only would they have a powerful Digimon that could help them out, but at least they could have someone else who knew quite a bit about Digimon along with them to replace Jack for now.

"Are you certain?" Andromon asked again.

"Yeah!" Gargomon pumped his arm into the air, "You'd love it there! And we'd all be doing the same thing! Kicking digital butt when we need too!"

"And protecting innocents." Raf added.

Gargomon gave a dismissive wave,"Yeah yeah, that too."

Andromon tilted his head to the side once again, seemingly considering this. It would be beneficial for his objective if he allied himself with those who shared the same goal as he did.

So with that decided, the Ultimae Digimon gave the teens and their partners a small nod, "If that is the case, than I would gladly take you up on your offer."

"Sweet!" Miko cheered and pulled out her phone, "Hatchet? Yeah, we need a bridge."

With the Medic sprouting a few words over the phone, Miko smiled to herself before slapping her phone shut, "It'll be just a few minutes." she smiled, earning no physical reaction from Andromon besides a small nod.

And after such a small amount of time passed, the now three Digimon and their partners were greeted by the sight of a ground bridge appearing in the middle of the street. Thankfully, the entire area had been cleared of people by this point, so there was no one around to see them make their escape.

"Well Andromon," Miko and the others started forward.

"Welcome to Botswana!" she waved her arms around at the Autobot base with a large grin. Such a comment though made Raf, Gargomon, and Birdramon groan at the terrible attempt at humor, but Andromon didn't seem to notice.

"Interesting title." he responded, seemingly taking her seriously for the moment.

And with that, the three Digimon and two humans made their way into the portal, vanishing from the city of lights just as the sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance. A lot of damage had been done, especially given the location. Yamaki was not going to be happy.

_Autobot HQ…_

Upon walking through the Ground Bridge, the duo of Miko and Raf suspected a familiar reaction from everyone present. Perhaps the same one that was given when Growlmon or Birdramon first made their presence known to the bots and the others. And they weren't wrong, for the most part at least.

"WHAT IS THAT!" Ratchet demanded.

Miko put her hands on her hips, "Are you going to do that every time Ratchet?"

Seriously, it was becoming a thing with him. And unlike Terriermon and 'Momentai', that was not cute or adorable. It was insulting. Still, it was a bit warranted at least. The kids had brought back a Fifth member of their gang when Ratchet strictly remembered there being only four of them when he sent the duo and their partners to Vegas.

Jack though, recognized the Digimon they brought with them, "Andromon?"

The giant, humanoid, android of a Digimon was kind of hard to miss with his skull shoulder pads, the organic part of his arm and leg, and of course that almost emotionless face that he had. Still, Jack didn't JUST recognize the Digimon due to his experience with the card game. He had seen him somewhere else too.

Back when he'd gone to the digital world he'd met an Andromon. It had been a hell of a long time ago, but he remembered him.

And so did Andromon. Sorta.Seeing as the Digimon was of the 'prototype' type, he had a fairly limited memory. Like with the way he could express things, the things he remembered were a bit...picky. So while he remembered Jack, he had forgotten some other details about the boy.

Like his name for one.And the fact that humans, well... grew up. So he was a tad confused by Jack knowing who he was.

"Yes," the massive Digimon nodded, "That is my designation. Greetings fellow humans, Digimon, and..."

And even without his faulty memory, Andromon would have still hesitated a tad when he saw the bots. He had...no idea what they were. So he improvised to the best of his digital brain would allow.

"...automatons." he greeted, choosing the best thing he could think of when it came to the Autobots.

"Well this is different," Arcee whispered to Bulkhead.

"Ya think?" Talking to a robot that was...well, not Cybertronian was a bit odd for the most part.

"So," Jack tried his best to steer the conversation a away from that awkward greeting, "...where did you come from exactly?"

Andromon answered without hesitation, "I followed the Digimon Mammothmon into the real world. When I realized his intentions, I did my best to protect the humans from him."

"We helped." Miko added.

Luckily, both Raf, Miko, and their partners had decided to keep the hiccups that occurred during their mission a secret. Such as Gargomon getting frozen in a block of Ice and Miko's brief distrust of the robotic Digimon.

"That they did." Andromon nodded, "And once the threat had been neutralized, I have no current way of returning to the digital world."

"So." Raf smiled, "We asked if he wanted to come with us."

"And I agreed."

Ratchet's optic twitched, "And you didn't ask to make sure if that was actually okay?"

Both Miko and Raf looked away, a bit embarrassed due to the fact that...they had actually forgotten about that part.

"Well...we thought it would be okay...he'd help us and all..." Raf admitted.

"And would you of liked to explain why we should have let another Digimon just roam Las Vegas?" Miko pointed out.

Ratchet opened his mouth to reply. Then thought better of it and shut it.

Miko smirked, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

The medic let out a grunt and crossed his arms, turning away and ignoring the situation at hand.

Still, the conversation did not stop there, "Wait, you said that he...wants to help us?"

Andromon nodded at that question, "Yes. My primary objective is the protection and defense of all innocent creatures. Human, Digimon, and whatever else I may encounter. And if you all have a similar objective, than I will assist you if I can."

"Well, that's nice." Arcee noted, "We could use another had. Especially with Jack out of the fight."

"Hey!" he protested, "I'm not THAT out of the fight!"

"Jack," Arcee said with a smirk, "You're basically on guard duty here at the base, that's pretty out of the fight."

The teen huffed for the moment, "That's only because you guys won't let me leave..."

He was stuck there, almost like he was grounded...just without the punishment aspect of it. And it was really starting to bug him.

"It's not all bad." Guilmon said, trying to comfort his friend, "At least we get to have fun together again."

Still frowning just a tad, Jack let out a sigh and looked at his partner…and quickly enough, his frown faded.

_'Scrap that puppy face of his...'_

"Yeah." he smiled gently, patting his partner on the head, "That's true, I've missed that quite a bit."

Even four years later, Jack hadn't really outgrown Guilmon. He was just too close a friend and far too goofy for him to ever out grow. Funny all things considered.

_'Wait till they see his ultimate form.'_ Jack thought to himself.

Hell, Jack was betting on the idea that Ratchet was going to glitch out and fall face first onto the floor once he saw it. If he thought Growlmon and Birdramon were a shock...oh boy. It was...quite the change with all things considered. And he was almost eager to show it off.

_'It'll come eventually'_ he thought. Jack looked over his friends and family and smiled, _'For now, I think I'll just enjoy what's going on.'_

_Later…_

As the hours moved by, the base quickly welcomed the new addition to their team. Andromon didn't seem to do much during the entire time (at the most, he just asked if there was any Digimon to deal with, which Ratchet told him flat out that there were none) but things were going along fine for the most part.

The one who welcomed Andromon the most besides the kids was Optimus of course, who approved of not only the Digimon's mission, but the assistance he was providing to the team as well. With so few Autobots along with the children, it was always good to have more hands around to get things done.

And Andromon happily lent his services wherever he was needed no matter the task. It was in his programming, though Miko kept Ratchet from trying to take advantage of this. However, as time passed, Jack couldn't help but sit and shimmer.

Something Raf noticed, "Everything alright Jack?"

"Hm?" Jack shook himself back into reality, "Oh...yeah, everything's cool."

However, such a bland and monotone answer didn't fly by Raf. He had a feeling that there was more to it than that. So when Jack looked away again, Raf gave his Digimon a quick nod and watch the tiny Digimon patter over toward the teen. Guilmon had fallen asleep next to Biyomon, the two Digimon gently snoozing.

"Jack..." Terriermon asked, "What's wrong?"

Jack smiled at Terriermons concern, "Nothing you need to worry about, Terriermon."

The little Digimon's ears perked at tad upon hearing that, "Aw, but I want to help. You can tell us anything, you know that Jack!"

"Yeah, but it's just me being me." Jack told him, "Again, nothing to worry about."

Terriermon scratched the back of his head, "Wow, you really are a stubborn one."

"Well, that's just me." Jack shrugged at the rookie, "Just one thick headed nut. Would take a sledge hammer to crack this open."

Well, that or a headbutt from Guilmon. That would work too.

"Oh?" Terriermon asked, his interest peaked, "I like cracking nuts."

Jack immediately gave Raf a 'help!' look. Raf just shrugged. The teen had just as much control over his partner when he was like this than Jack had when Guilmon was hungry. Truthfully, it was better to just let things play out than to try and stop them. Even if that meant Jack had to suffer for a bit.

"Ya sure ya don't wanna tell me?" Terriermon pleaded.

"Terriermon, it's not a big deal."

"Then why don't you like talking about it then?" Terriermon asked again, proving he could be just as stubborn as Jack was.

The teen in question sighed at this, "I just don't want to bug anyone about nothing, that's all."

"But if it's bugging you, it's not nothing, right?" Terriermon asked.

"Terriermon, that's not the case."

"Then what is the case?" the Digimon asked again, not giving up.

Jack didn't even reply to that one. Instead, he just cupped his hands together and moaned into them.

"I'm...not bugging you, am I?" Terriermon asked with a pout.

"Yes." Jack moaned, "Yes you are."

He didn't want to offend the little Digimon...but he was bugging him quite a bit. It was almost like when his mother nagged him about something, only smaller and cuter along with the lack of punishment if he refuses. And what's worse, Terriermon didn't seem to be the type to stop anytime soon.

"Well, if ya tell me what's buggin ya I'll leave ya alone!" Terriermon reasoned.

"Terriermon, drop it."

"Nope." Terriermon smiled like a cute little goof.

"Terriermon..."

"Nope."

"Please?"

"Nope, nope. Nope-idy, nope."

Jack groaned. This was quickly becoming far worse that when his mother bugged him about stuff. Hell, the only thing he could think of that could be worse than this is if Terriermon and his mother ganged up on him or something.

If they did, he'd be so screwed. Luckily that didn't seem to be happening quite yet. Still, Terriermon showed no sign of stopping yet...

"Terriermon-"

"Nope!'

"Ugh!" Jack nearly pulled his hair out in his frustration, "FINE! If I tell you, you'll stop!?

"Yep!" Terriermon smiled brightly, "Digimon's word!"

Despite his annoyance, Jack raised a brow at that, "You have a 'word'?"

"Sometimes." the rookie shrugged, "But still! Spill the beans already!"

Jack felt his eye twitched, "Seriously? Impatient much?"

"Yep! Now spill!"

The teen just sighed. He was starting to miss the days where the Digimon could only bark. Sure that had been irritating too, but at least he didn't direct it toward anyone.

"Alright...alright..." Jack sighed, "I'm just worried, alright? Worried about what's going to come next."

Terriermon cocked his head to the side"Worried?"

Jack nodded, despite how much it pained him inwardly, "Well...yeah. You and the others just fought an Ultimate out of the blue...and I wasn't even there to help you. So...whats going to come for us next time?"

"It could be a Mega next. Guilmon and I can't bio-merge yet, so if it is there won't be much that can stop it." He grabbed at his hair, "It's just so frustrating, because we accomplished so much back then, and now I'm just a cripple on the couch!"

Watching as the boy crumpled onto his seat, Terriermon's expression whimpered slightly.

"Jack, you're not a cripple on a couch..." he told the teen, "You just got a bit hurt, that's all. And you're already loads better from when it happened."

"Yeah, but you guys have had to face opponents I never faced until I'd already hit the ultimate form for Guilmon." Jack's head fell back on the couch, "It's just frustrating."

Jack just felt...useless at the moment. His friends were fighting battles that he himself could be helping with. He was the most experienced of the group and he should have been out there, making sure his friends were safe. And yet, her was stuck at base...just like he had been when it concerned the Decepticons. It just wasn't fair.

However, despite his sour mood, Jack did notice a funny look that Terriermon was giving him, "Okay, what's with the look?" he asked.

"What look?"

"That look. The one you're giving me right now."

"Huh?" Terriermon mused for a moment before a bit of realization appeared on his face, "OH! You mean this?"

Pulling his cheeks apart, the little Digimon made a goofy face. Something that made Jack crack a small smile, "Okay, what are you doing?"

"Tryin ta mak ya laugh!" the Digimon said through his silly face, "Always makes me feel better."

The little Digimon continued to do this for a few more moments, wanting to really see Jack crack a true smile at least. Still, it proved harder to do than he would have originally thought. Jack was like a rock...although, one with a few cracks in it.

Terriermon let the face drop for a moment and rubbed his forehead, "Jeez, you're a real tough nut ta crack you know that Jack? I don't think I've ever seen a guy who didn't want to smile so bad."

Jack sighed, "It's not that I don't want to, it's that...everything is just a bit hard at the moment."

The teen did lean forward and picked up the little Digimon, setting him on the boy's lap, "But you made a good effort, better than most around here."

"Well gee, glad to hear it." Terriermon sighed.

Jack smiled again and patted the little Digimon on the head, "And I thought I was hard on myself."

"Well, you are." Terriermon pointed out, reaching up and gently stretching Jack's face into a goofy smile, "I'm just waiting to see you laugh!""

With the little Digimon laughing a tad, Jack just shook his head (After Terriermon finally let go of his face again), "Seems you have that covered too."

"I'm the best in the business!" Terriermon proclaimed proudly.

"And besides!" Terriermon smiled, "Momen-"

Jack beat him to it however, covering the little Digimon's mouth while a soft smile appeared on his own, "I know, I know. Momentai."

He removed his hand from Terriermons mouth. The little guy's jaw was hanging, "How'd ya know I was gonna say that!?"

Jack managed a small laugh at that, "I just had a feeling, that's all..."

"Really?" Terriermon asked, looking at Jack with a inspecting gaze

"Yep." Jack smirked, "Just a feeling in my gut."

Terriermon proceeded to poke him in the gut.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Well, you said the feeling was in your gut." Terriermon innocently said, "Did you feel that too?"

Jack raised a brow, "Yeah, just a bit...Though I'd prefer if you didn't poke me there Terriermon."

Jack's torso was still a bit sore from the trauma that Devimon had put him through and getting poked, even by the little Digimon hurt a bit. It was something the little Digimon realized as well, as he hung his head in shame because of it.

"Sorry..."

"Ah, don't worry about it." Jack patted Terriermon on the head, "Like you said, Momentai."

That made the little Digimon brighten up a bit. It was like his trigger word, earning a smile on his face whenever someone said it.

"Yeah!" he cheered, "Momentai!"

"Momentai!" the humans and Digimon cheered in agreement. Things had been bad for a time, but they would tough through it. And with Andromon added to their team, things were looking on the up and up. Just took Jack a little while to see it…

**A/N: Short chapter, I know, but… I've been losing steam on this story for a while. And with that said, I've decided on my story that I'll be posting tomorrow. It's the Ben 10 one of course, as it over passed Spiderman and tied with Thor in a single day. So I'll be focusing on that. Everyone be on the lookout for '10 Kinds of Trouble' coming out tomorrow around 12 PM - 3 PM Pacific Time. Also, I'm putting two stories up for adoption, Sparkling and Energy Equals Mass. If interested, let me know. And remember to leave reviews with critique and PM me with questions and such. Bye!**


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